To Recognise the Lightness Within
by Parag shadeslayer
Summary: Harry Potter is presumed dead but is actually trained by the Dark Side surrounded by lies. Now its up to Harry to realize the purity in his heart and do what's right. Harry-Order fight, especially Weasleys. Light Dumbledore. eventual H/G depends on review
1. Prologue

Hi, everyone...this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction and I, being a huge HP fan always wanted to write something related to it. So here we go...

**A/N: Our life is influenced by the decisions that we make. All our actions are determined by a decision. Sometimes, a seemingly trivial decision can change the course of our entire life. The following set of events was set into motion when Lord Voldemort decided to take someone with him when he went to kill the Potters and that someone in turn decided to...well, read and find out.**

**NB: As I am new, I still don't know how you amazing readers will respond. So please after reading, even if you are not in the mood, kindly ****(imagine me lying on your feet and begging)**** leave a review which will encourage me to write. Write anything, good, bad, whatever, you could even write about the weather for all I care, but ****(now almost desperate)**** please do REVIEW.**

**I have written "AAAAAAAAAA" whenever there is a change of scene. I tried to draw a line but it did not work, nor did the asterisks. If you know Please tell me how its done. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

Prologue

It was quiet under a dark night sky. Godric's Hollow was very silent. The moon was still hiding between the clouds and there were no stars to be seen. There was a big storm coming and most people were inside but little did they know that an actual storm was about to hit the wizarding world and that this night would be etched in their memories for a long time to come.

Out of thin air two hooded figures appeared on the road. One was a tall man who seemed to have a commanding aura surrounding him. He did not look like your everyday wizard who would go to work and return in the evening to his wife and children. He was more like the ghosts whose stories the small children had to be told to make them sleep. He hardly qualified as a human. His face was not something associated with human anatomy. His features were more snake like than human. He called himself Lord Voldemort.

His companion was a woman who looked less like a woman and more like a scavenger. She was tall, thin and wearing a bone-white mask. She was wearing black robes and was looking at Voldemort like a devotee in front of his God. Together both formed a pair whose mere sight would make any sane man run away as fast as his legs could carry him.

Voldemort spoke in his sleek voice, "Wait here Bella, I have a meeting with Harry Potter."

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Bellatrix was waiting patiently as her master had gone to the Potters' house. She had already seen two flashes of green lit the night, the last one couple of seconds ago which she assumed were the parents. "Fools!" she thought, "trying to save their son when they should run for their own-" Bellatrix stopped in mid- thought as the brightest flash of green in the entire night lit up Godric's Hollow and she heard a huge explosion. In the distance, she saw the top floor of the Potter house blasted apart. There was a moment of silence and then noise. As people started realising that something was wrong nearby, sounds of activity started coming from inside the houses and rooms began to be lit. Bellatrix knew something was not right. Something had gone wrong. This was not her master's work. The aurors would be arriving at any moment and even worse that old headmaster. She needed to find out what was happening and get out of there fast. The Dark Lord had not thought about something like this. Little did she know that he had not thought about most of the things that would take place tonight.

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Bellatrix was standing in front of the baby. It was crying. As soon as she had seen the baby alive she knew something was wrong with her master. She tried to contact him but got no response. She assumed the worst. She looked at the baby, the look of the deepest hatred in her face. She raised her wand starting to utter the killing curse. But then she stopped as an idea struck her. Her grief at the loss of her master knew no bounds but she knew that she had to stay calm. In the distance she heard the deep rumble of a motorcycle. She knew who it was. She looked into the green eyes of the crying child.

"I will have my revenge, Harry Potter." she said. With that she picked up the baby and apparated to the front of the house.

The motorcycle was drawing nearer. She had to leave and could not risk leaving any prints.

She could almost see the face of the rider. She aimed with her wand and shot a curse. The entire house was blown apart.

Sirius Black was stopped in mid-air by the force of the blast. He knew he had seen a woman but till he reached his friends' burning house she was already gone...

**So, how was it? please review and let me know. constructive criticisms are welcome. The more the reviews, the greater will be the encouragement to write more and post fast. I have done one part of my job. now I am waiting for your reviews (imagine my state to be like that of Hermione when she was waiting for her OWLs results). PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So! 49 hits in the first 6 days. Impressive! But just one review... Pathetic! Come on guys! After all the requests, just ONE review. I am sure you can do much better. Of course you will do much better. I mean I wasn't expecting much but still...a few more reviews wouldn't hurt now, would they? So here is your second opportunity to show how awesome you are. Please R&R.**

** David Fishwick: thanks. I actually wasn't planning to update so soon but your single line gave me enough inspiration to finish this chapter within one and a half hour of reading your review. Please review again and feel free to give any suggestions or criticisms (be gentle in that case). Thank You**

**This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer David Fishwick. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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Chapter 1

"**THE END OF THE DARK LORD?**

_London, 4__th__ November 1981: The entire wizarding world is still trying to comprehend what happened at Godric's Hollow on the night of 31__st__ October. The Ministry of Magic last night came up with an official statement about the events of the night. It was actually the Minister himself who gave the statement to the wizarding community. He said, "It has now been confirmed that on the night of 31__st__ October, there was a large amount of Dark Magic used at the Potters' residence in Godric's Hollow. DMLE officers as well as the Unspeakables have identified the traces of the killing curse being used more than once and are guessing it was used three or four times. The entire house was blown apart and we managed to find some traces of the bodies of James and Lilly Potter. Their only child, one-year old Harry is also presumed dead even though there was no sign of his body, but the body of a one-year old can hardly be expected to survive such a strong blast. As for the one responsible for this, it is beyond doubt that the plan was masterminded by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but we are still investigating whether he had any accomplices with him. People are beginning to think that You-Know-Who has disappeared for good due to circumstances unknown, which if indeed true will be a big relief to the world, but I still urge everyone to remain alert and protect their families unless it is confirmed by the Ministry."_

_The Minister was rather evasive regarding questions about You-Know-Who but highly placed sources inside the Ministry informed us that most people within the Ministry believe him to be dead. In another development resulting from the events at Godric's Hollow, there has been utter chaos among the wizards known as the Death Eaters who have no idea what to do in their Master's sudden absence. It has been a field day for the Aurors who under their leader Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody have taken on the offensive. They have already captured about fifteen Death Eaters and are currently interrogating them._

_Amidst all this no one has been able to contact Albus Dumbledore regarding the ongoing events. As people are waiting for their saviour to confirm the Dark Lord's death, the Headmaster has been unavailable for any comments."  
><em>

Bellatrix finished reading the newspaper. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing four nights ago. She was sitting on the ground leaning on her back against a big tree. There was no shortage of trees in the forest where she was currently hiding. She had been on the run since that night. She could not go back as they would be looking for her. She knew there would be chaos and what she had read just now confirmed it. Night had fallen quickly in the forest and not a single star could be seen beneath the thick canopy above her. It was very chilling and she knew she could not stay like that for much longer. The child would surely die in a day or two if things remained like that. The child. It had ruined everything. Her Master was gone, there was no doubt he was gone, the black tattoo on her left forearm had almost vanished. There was no other explanation. It was however because of the child that she got hold of the Prophet. As evening had started to set it began shivering and started to cry. Even she herself was feeling the cold. So she quietly sneaked off to a nearby village where she had gone to steal food and stole a few blankets both for her and the child.

The topic of discussion was at the moment sleeping peacefully under layers of blankets near her. The shivers had subsided as soon as she had wrapped the blankets around it. Bellatrix looked at the child. Every time she saw it, she wanted to kill it, but she knew how necessary it was for her plans. She would have her revenge no matter if it was sixteen years later, but she would have it. And the first thing she needed to do was leave the country first thing in the morning. She was too tired now. With these thoughts, Bellatrix put the remaining blankets on herself and immediately fell asleep...

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The Headmaster was sitting in his study. It was almost midnight all the portraits were asleep. Phineas Nigellus was snoring the loudest. Fawkes was sitting on his perch. Albus Dumbledore was thinking. Harry Potter wasn't supposed to die. The Potters weren't supposed to die. He had failed to save them. The prophecy would be annulled. The people were starting to celebrate and they deserved it, but he wasn't sure Voldemort was gone for good. He had his suspicions. But all this could wait. Voldemort was not coming back so soon, of that he was sure. Now was the time to face the people and to let them begin the celebrations...

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**How was it? Please review and tell me. Your encouragements will inspire me to write. All suggestions and criticisms (be gentle) are welcome. Thank You for reading...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi guys! I am a bit early than my 6-day update but I won't be able to update next week. I have an exam tomorrow and will have to face the results of a few earlier ones next week. So I decided to write a chapter today. **

**I must thank those amazing readers who reviewed the earlier chapter. Thanks for your encouragement, suggestions and criticisms. Don't worry! You were gentle enough. But you can read criticisms with only so much grace. This doesn't mean that I am openly inviting criticisms. But if you must write, then please but do it gently.**

**Also thanks to those extraordinary readers who have marked this story as favourite and those who have gone for the 'alert' option.**

**I would also like some help on another matter. As Lord Sangreal so rightly said I need a beta reader who visits Ffn pretty often. I have sent a few requests but they are yet response. If you are a beta reader and like to beta my story, please contact me and also if you know someone who would like to do so please suggest me to them or them to me.**

**That's all I have to say. Let's get on with the story. And before I forget, please feel free to R&R.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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Chapter 2

Bellatrix Lestrange was sitting on an armchair, eyes closed, completely exhausted from the day's events. A wizarding radio was playing on a desk nearby in a low volume. Some woman was reading out the news. The house- if it could be called so- had been completely inhabited for many years. She had had to work tirelessly like a filthy house-elf. She had wanted to burn it all down but things weren't the same anymore, no, things had changed drastically since that night, all because of the child. Bellatrix's blood began to boil at the thought the child. It had finished everything. She, Bellatrix Lestrange, the Dark Lord's most trusted supporter had been reduced to a babysitter. She had to feed it, clean it and what not while she just wanted to raise her wand and remove this miserable excuse from the face of the earth. The urge was becoming stronger with each passing day and each hardship she had had to face because of the child. She would have to do something quickly lest she did something that would damage her plans. But now was not the time for this. She was tired and would think of this later.

Bellatrix heaved a great sigh and changed into a more comfortable position in the armchair. She had gone through a considerable amount of difficulty arranging the 'house'. Despite all the secrecy she had to use some of her contacts to search for the house. It was inevitable. Her demands had been precise- small, poor, isolated and having large open surroundings. She would need the space for the physical training. The house had been found pretty quickly, much quicker than she had expected. It was to her likings. Money had not been a problem. The Goblins would send it to her; they were not much bothered about taking sides as long as they received their filthy little trinkets in return and Bellatrix had lots of them. But she wanted the child to grow up its entire life in hardship. That would ease out many things.

Bellatrix was stopped in her line of thought by the voice of the news reader.

"_And in international news, in a big achievement for the British Ministry of Magic-_

Bellatrix's eyes flew open.

_-as many as seven of the wizards calling themselves as 'Death Eaters' were killed and as many detained in a fierce battle that took place in the British wizarding village of Hogsmeade at the break of dawn today. According to sources these wizards had been living there for the past two days under various disguises. As early as four in the morning today, the occupants of Hogsmeade were awakened by a commotion caused by about twenty figures clad in black robes and white masks. They began burning the shops and homes of the shop-owners and terrorising the people who came running out._ _Fortunately, someone was able to contact the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is situated nearby, Albus Dumbledore who arrived minutes later with a team of about thirty people comprising of aurors and teachers. The fight that ensued went on for about fifteen minutes where seven of the Death Eaters were killed. Seven of them were detained while the rest managed to escape. Among the dead, was the leader of the group who has been identified as Rodolphus Lestrange. The Death Eater in question is supposed to be a close associate of the wanted Dark wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who was supposedly killed on the night of 31__st__ October. These deaths and detentions have been one of the many that have taken place since the death of the mentioned wizard, an event which has been welcomed with open arms by wizarding Britain. An official statement on today's events and casualties is yet to be released but there has been no case of death among the residents other than a few major injuries._

_In other international news, the Fre-"_

There was a noise and the radio was blasted into pieces. Bellatrix Lestrange was standing with wand raised and a murderous look in her eyes. Her entire body was shaking with uncontrollable rage. This Bellatrix Lestrange could have faced eight ministry Aurors together without a second thought and made quick work out of them.

Bellatrix gripped her hair in frustration. Everything was being slowly ripped away from her. First her Master and now her husband had been taken away. Unlike the general assumption Bellatrix did love her husband and family; except the traitor members. She wanted to go to Britain right now and tear apart everything. But a part of her knew this could not be done. She began taking deep breaths and started to calm down. She needed to sleep awhile.

Bellatrix turned around to go to her bedroom. Just then from another room, came the sound of a baby crying.

Whatever self-control she had regained went down the drain. The child had destroyed her life in an instant. It had brought the end of all that was dear to her. She had had enough. This was going too far.

Bellatrix flung out her wand stormed into the room where the baby had been sleeping. It was awake now and lying on the cot and crying. Its crying subsided a bit on seeing her. She looked into the green eyes of the crying baby. Deep hatred rose within her. Her eyes were burning like fire. This insignificant piece of human flesh had brought about too many deaths. Its time on Earth was long overdue.

She said, "You have lived long enough. The world doesn't need Harry Potter anymore."

With that she took a deep breath and raised her wand...

**So, how was it? Please do review and tell me.**

**My amazing reviewers please don't think I have forgotten you. I would sooner forget my birthday than forget to reply to you (and that's saying something...)**

**golfnjen83: thanks. If you are talking about the shivers, then it was just usual cold. If you were talking about something else please ask again. Hope you review this chapter too.**

**Crius: thanks. I think I get your point about the reviews but it's still heartening to see a few of them. I think you will be happy to see that I have actually made use of formatting in this chapter. And maybe I will also edit the previous chapter. Please review again. It is much appreciated.**

**lord sangreal: thanks. I don't think I was too worried about the word count (ok! Maybe a little! Maybe a bit more. Aaaaarghhh) but honestly, I did not want to stretch the lines. If it happened it was completely unintentional but thanks for pointing it out. I don't know much about which part(s) you meant and so cannot attempt to rectify without knowing where the mistake is. I have written this chapter and hope the mistakes have not been repeated but if they have please tell me. Also if you want to give any ideas for Neville please do. I will have to admit I was not thinking too much about him, but I was aware he would have to be mentioned. Thanks for your time and please review again.**

**Luis: thanks. I have corrected the Nov 31 part. I wanted to write 31 October. Review this chapter too.**

**anonymous reviewer: Don't worry! I was not planning to write the entire childhood. This story will be centred on the grown-up teenage Harry not the small one. Harry is going to grow fast! Real fast! And please write your name the next time so that I can address you by your name. I am sure you will review this chapter too...um...you will do right...?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi guys, I am back with another chapter. I was pleased to see the significant increase in the number of hits after the last chapter but was really disheartened to get just three reviews. Come on guys, you spend so much time reading the chapter. You just take couple of more minutes and write a review. It doesn't hurt. Anyways this is the longest chapter I have written so far. I hope you enjoy it. For those who were bored Bellatrix's POV here is a change. Please R&R.**

**To all my amazing reviewers (however few they might be...sniff) your replies are at the end. Please enjoy the chapter review again. Your suggestions and opinions are always welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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Chapter 3

The last of the stars faded away from the dark sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen. The pall of darkness slowly seemed to be lifted away as night gave way to the breaking dawn. The amount of light began to increase slowly. Finally the Sun peeked from the horizon and the first rays of the day hit the village. Till then the entire village had been enveloped in silence as the occupants endeavoured in the land of dreams. This was a sign for everyone to wake up and begin their day...

Anton's heart was thumping against his chest. He could hear the air whiz past him and his own short and fast rhythmic breathing. His footsteps were the only noise he was aware of as he tried to run faster to his destination. His time had run out but he still hadn't reached his goal. It wouldn't have hurt the Sun to come out five minutes late. He knew his mother wouldn't be too happy with him. There was never any room for error with his mother. Any sane person who values his or her life would think twice before facing his mother's displeasure. Bottom-line was that you do not mess with Anton's mother.

Nearly nine years with her had taught him that, and much more. His mother had a commanding aura about her. It wasn't written on her face but when people saw her they somehow knew that this was a woman they did not want to cross. She liked giving commands and even better to see them being obeyed. He often wondered if she had belonged to some old and rich family, but these were just speculations. He would never actually know. Her past life was the last thing that Anton could talk to his mother about. It was always about aim: making _him _stronger, teaching _him _magic and educating _him _in all the aspects of magic. His entire life had been learning. There was always a book to read, a spell to learn or a mile to run.

Anton was still running. He hadn't reached his home yet. There were still three quarters of a mile to run and the Sun had already been out for a minute. He had become much faster than when he had started. He had been going through this ordeal since he was five years old. He would always have to get up very early and run about six miles through the village and return home before Sunrise. In the beginning, he hadn't been able to do so. He could just run a couple of miles before his legs became dead and collapsed. He had to take half an hour breaks between every two miles and would reach home about an hour after sunrise. He had once even fainted on the road and had been lying there for almost half an hour before the villagers found him. Someone had recognised him and informed his mother. She, as usual, wasn't happy.

But now Anton could run the entire distance at a stretch, without stopping. He had become much stronger than when he had started. He also got home before sunrise. Today was an exception. He woke up late in the morning. He never woke up late. Today, he had woken a bit early and when he saw that it still wasn't time to go out, he lied down for a few moments. But he fell asleep and got lost in the land of dreams-it wasn't just any dream, it was _the dream. _He didn't even hear the alarm go off.

Anton reached the end of the village. The last house was almost half a mile behind him. Their home slowly came into view. It was more of a combination of three or four cabins than an actual house. The house itself was very old. The plaster on the outer walls had come off in many places. It was a wonder to him how the structure had survived for so long. Maybe there was magic involved. It was situated on the outskirts of the village, away from the people. Beyond that were a field and then a forest. Very few people came this far. So Anton and his mother were practically isolated.

He reached the door and went inside. His mother was eating breakfast and listening to something on the radio.

"Good morning, mother." said Anton.

"You are late. Go have a bath and come back. No breakfast today." his mother said without looking at him.

Anton went to his room to have a bath and get changed. This behaviour from his mother could be considered normal. He had learnt much before not to protest to his mother. Things generally turned for the worse when his mother saw a protest. He had gone for the more peaceful option. Anton took out his wand and went to his bedside table. Three stones were lying on it. He waved his wand over them and three red and juicy apples were sitting there. He ate them quickly.

This was his backup plan. With his mother there was always the risk of going hungry and Anton hated having to do all the work with an empty stomach. So whenever possible he would go to the nearby village and steal a couple of fruits. He then brought them home and transfigured them into something inconspicuous and kept them for times like these. The only problem was that he had to keep replenishing his stock every two days or so, otherwise he would only have rotten fruits to eat. He made a mental note to bring his fruits the next day and went to have a bath.

Anton took his bath got dressed. He was standing in front of a mirror. He was an eight year old boy with brown hair and black eyes. His body was more developed than the average eight-nine years old. There were slight dark marks under his eyes thanks to the regular physical and mental exertion. He was of medium height. But the only feature about himself that Anton thought was unique and liked very much was a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He had the scar since as long as he remembered and his mother had also told him that it had been there since his birth.

He looked at a picture on his bedside table. It was his father's picture. He had been killed when Anton was a year old only. His parents had not been able to tell anyone about his existence for his own safety. Then when he was one year old, his mother had taken him and run away far from home. While she was running, a wizard and his associates had killed his father and many of his friends. This wizard was very powerful and manipulative. He had all the authorities on his side and anyone who opposed him was branded as a murderer and hunted down. His mother had cried the entire day after telling him this and Anton had silently vowed to train so hard that when he finally met this evil wizard and his associates they would learn to fear his name. He had been five years old when his mother had told him this and he had been training since then with just one thought in mind-destroy Albus Dumbledore.

Anton sometimes felt sad for his mother. She had gone through so much just to keep him safe. He knew that she had to behave like a cold person so that he would never deviate from his path and so he did not held anything against his mother. Life had been too hard on her and circumstances had made her the person that she was. She had even changed her name even though they were so far away from their actual home. She did not want to take any risk. Her real name was Bellatrix Lestrange. Anton had just changed his surname as nobody had known about him.

With tears in his eyes, Anton looked at the face of Rodolphus Lestrange. Something inside him felt like it was about to explode.

He wiped away the tears, took a deep breath and said, "I never met you father but I hope I could have. One day my time here will be over and I will return to you. But before that I will avenge you. All those who hurt our family will meet their end by my hands. They will pay with their lives for every tear that my mother had to shed. And as for Dumbledore, he won't know what hit him. I will tear apart everything, his school, his order and the families of all those who helped him. Before he dies there will just be one name in his mind-Antonio Lestrange."

Saying this he stormed out of his room. What he didn't notice was the disillusioned figure of Bellatrix Lestrange. She lifted the charm off herself with a smile on her face. Even after all these years, her plan was working fantastically well.

**So, once again, how was it? I know you want to review. Go on...**

**To my amazing reviewers-**

**sh777: thanks. I'll see what I can do about the pairings. Please do review again.**

**anonymous: thanks. This chapter was 500 words longer. Hope you enjoyed it. And I hope your problem with going through his life as a baby is solved. I skipped eight years. How's that? Please do write again and also if there is any other problem please feel free to write. **

**lord sangreal: thanks. Yeah, the radio idea was good, wasn't it? I had started off with another newspaper article but changed it. It's good you liked it. Don't worry; I am thinking how to bring a Dumbledore POV soon. I do have some ideas. If all goes well he will surface within the next the next two or three chapters. And as for your point about Harry, maybe it's solved now, no? and Bella is as mad as anyone can be when they have to babysit someone who has killed their family. Thank you for your time again and hope you review again.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi guys. I know I have been a complete jackass not updating for an entire month. But since the 22****nd**** of May, I have had to deal with the results of a few examinations that I had previously appeared and a couple of weeks were used up in dealing with them. After that there were two weeks of travelling to my different relatives' house where a computer is hard to find in most of the houses, let alone an internet connection. **

**But now I am fed up of the holidays and will devote most of my time to writing. Updates will be back to the original speed. Please stay with me.**

**CLARIFICATION: For all those who were confused with the line "**Nearly nine years with her...**" from Chapter 3, and Anton's age, you see, Anton at that time was almost nine (even though not mentioned clearly) and he thought that he had been living with his mother since birth and not after his first birthday, hence the words "**_Nearly_ nine years with her...".

**Replies to reviews are at the end.**

**PLEASE DO R&R.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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Chapter 4

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_FEW YEARS LATER..._

No. 12 Grimmauld Place is a typical Dark Wizard's dream home. It is a magnificent structure situated in a London suburb invisible to Muggle eyes and protected by a horde of protective enchantments. Dark magical artefacts that have been passed down from one generation to the next, beheaded elf-heads, pure goblin-made silver utensils bearing the family crest of an ancient family; the house was full of things that would make a field-day for both dealers like Borgin and thieves alike, only if they were allowed to explore. Anyone who entered the house was bound to be intimidated by its large size and more importantly its dark and ancient nature.

But the present owner of the house was nothing like what the house suggested. In fact, he was as far from the Dark Arts as anyone who could be found on the planet. He was in his thirties, unmarried, had long black hair and at present was lying on his bed in his bedroom on the second floor of the house. His name was Sirius Black and he was an auror in the British Ministry of Magic.

Sirius had been lying there for the past thirty minutes with his eyes closed and trying to relax. He had had a tiring past couple of months trying to track down a group of criminals who had proved to be quite a pain to the Ministry. They had finally been caught today and Sirius had been part of the raid that had taken almost sixty days to plan. He was completely exhausted even though he wasn't physically hurt, unlike some of his colleagues.

He heard the front door being opened downstairs and reluctantly git out of his bed. Remus had returned and he was curious to know what had happened in the meeting. Sirius saw Remus sit on an armchair as he entered the living room. He looked shabby as ever and the first wisps of gray hair had started to appear on his head. Sirius felt sad as he thought about his childhood best friend. The poor guy had faced a hard time, what with his little problem and the Anti-Werewolf campaign of those idiots at the Ministry. Job opportunities had become virtually non-existent for him. It was good of the old man to offer him the job.

"So," said Sirius cheerfully, sitting on a couch "did you meet Grandpa?"

"What?" said Lupin and then smiled as he understood who Sirius was talking about. "He's alright. Just having a couple of problems finding someone suitable for the post. Well, until now." he finished with a shrug.

"So you are going to Hogwarts?" asked Sirius also smiling.

"Yes, I am now officially the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." said Remus sanding like an announcer.

"Well done Remus, or shall I say Professor Lupin?"

"I think Professor will be appropriate." said Lupin playing along.

"I am actually surprised you didn't apply for the post earlier. I mean they couldn't have found a better person for the post, honestly."

"Well thanks, but with all my problems it becomes quite difficult to convince anyone that I wouldn't rip off the intestines of anyone near me and even now it's only because of gra...I mean Dumbledore that I will be teaching. I will have to be very cautious. On Dumbledore's orders, Severus will have to make the wolfsbane potion every month on full moon."

"So you met greasy, grimy old Snivellus?" asked Sirius cringing his nose in disgust.

"Sirius, it's been over twenty years. You need to get over this." Remus said strictly and also in an exasperated sort of way."

"You know we finally caught those idiots that had been troubling us for so long today." said Sirius completely ignoring the last statement.

Remus sighed and said, "Really?"

"Yeah I'm glad we finished this business so quickly. They had really become quite a pain in the-"

"Alright I get it." said Remus quickly.

"Did you find out whether that complete jackass Lockhart was actually the DADA teacher last year?"

"Actually he was. Speaking of which there was actually some trouble this last year at Hogwarts."

"What happened?"

"It was something to do with a diary and the Weasleys' youngest child."

"Who? Ginny Weasley? What did she do? How old was she? A second-year?"

"First-year actually. Apparently she had somehow got a diary at Diagon Alley and when she wrote in it, it replied back."

"So what? Must have been a prank."

"But a prank doesn't give you full page answers about your troubles with your brothers. She wrote in it for a few days but then somehow got scared and had the good sense to go to a second-year girl whose name I have forgotten and who was a friend of her brother Ron. This girl fortunately was in her senses and actually was the topper of her year. She convinced Ginny to go to McGonagall who took them both to Dumbledore. He kept the diary with him. It was actually an object of dark magic. Guess whose diary it was?"

"Filch?"

"It's not funny Sirius. The diary belonged to a sixteen year old student named Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Sirius' eyeballs looked ready to bulge out as his eyes opened wide in shock with recognition. His face immediately hardened as he thought about his best friends' killer. "What was it doing with a first-year and that too Arthur and Molly's daughter?"

"No one's sure but when Dumbledore examined the diary he saw that it wasn't actually just a diary but rather a memory of the sixteen year old Voldemort. It was pretty dark stuff. Dumbledore said he actually had to use Fiendfire to destroy it."

"Whoa! Haven't heard about that one in years. Isn't it quite difficult to control?" asked Sirius in surprise.

"Quite." replied Lupin. "And I wouldn't expect anyone other than Dumbledore to be able to control it that much accurately."

"Leave all this." said Sirius suddenly, "You've got a job and we ought to celebrate. Both of them went to the kitchen and Sirius poured two glasses of firewhisky.

He handed Lupin a glass and then raised his towards his friend, "To your career as a great teacher."

"To my career." Lupin said taking a sip from his glass. It burned down his throat but was reviving.

"You'll enjoy teaching, wont you Remus?" asked Sirius smiling.

"Yes I will."

Sirius' expression suddenly turned grave. "You know Harry would have been in his Third year and you could have taught him. I wonder what he would have been like. Would he have been like Lily or more like us? We'll never know."

"No, we won't." said Remus.

"Only if I-"

"Sirius!" Lupin cut across whatever he was going to say. "We have been over this a thousand times. _None _of what happened that night was your fault. We all had agreed to make Wormtail the Secret Keeper and Bellatrix was almost gone by the time you reached their house. Even without the curse she fired at you wouldn't have been able to stop her." said Lupin strictly but inside he was feeling a deep pain for his only remaining best friend in the world.

"I can't let it go Remus. Both of the times I could have done things that could have resulted in Harry not being dead."

"Many things _could have _happened Sirius, but they didn't and that is how we have to accept them."

"I think I will go to bed. Good night Moony."

"Good night Padfoot."

Remus sighed. He had been witnessing this scene about thrice a month every year since the Potters' death. Sirius somehow felt guilty for James, Lily and Harry's death. The idea was ridiculous but Sirius never really seemed to have let go of it. Remus was really worried about his friend. He wasn't sure that Sirius was even aware that he had to think about his own future and to start a family. He had kept his auror job at first to hunt down Bellatrix and later it had become something to define his purpose of living. Sirius had worked tirelessly for the last twelve years not wanting the world to witness another Dark period. He had become one of the most feared names in the criminal world and now as a deputy along with Kingsley Shacklebolt to Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour commanded the respect of his peers and colleagues.

Remus still vividly remembered that fateful night. He had been with Sirius when they had come to know that something was amiss at Godric's Hollow. Sirius had left immediately on his motorcycle and Remus had stayed behind to inform the Order. Sirius had reached to find the Potters' house burnt and as he neared the ruins of the house he had seen Bellatrix Lestrange with a pile of blankets in her hands. Before he could reach her, she blasted the remaining part of the house and disapparated. Sirius had immediately contacted Remus and Dumbledore to inform them of this. In the following months that witnessed the virtual eradication of the Death Eaters from the face of Earth, the Ministry and the Order together had searched for Bellatrix but to no avail. Later Dumbledore concluded that Bellatrix had panicked at Voldemort's disappearance and as their mission had been to kill Harry, she had taken him with her hoping that her Master would return and then kill Harry. But when Voldemort hadn't returned, she had killed Harry herself. Whether she herself was now alive or dead, they could only guess.

Lupin heaved a long sigh. It had been a long day and he was tired as well as hungry. Reluctantly he stood up and started to prepare some food for himself and his friend wanting to do something with his hands, because he knew that when Sirius got over his mood, he would be hungry and feeding Sirius was definitely not a joke.

But Remus along with the entire world was completely unknown to the fact that it was just a matter of before all their theories about Harry Potter went down the drain.

At the same moment Antonio Lestrange was laughing with such happiness that he had not felt in his entire life. For the first time in his life, he had beaten his mother in their practice duel after continuously losing for eight long years.

Near Anton, healing her injuries from the duel with her supposed son, Bellatrix Lestrange was inwardly smiling. The boy had matured sooner and faster than she had expected. In a year he would be ready to wreck havoc across wizarding Britain and then her revenge would be truly completed.

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**PLEASE REVIEW WITH YOUR VIEWS AND ANY QUERRIES.**

**CHBlue: thanx. Yeah the time jump was good wasn't it? Sorry about the late update. I can't wait to write the part when Harry collides with the light side. Please review.**

**HeartsGlow: thanx. All i wrote in the prologue about Voldemort was that "**His features were more snake like than human". **I didn't write anything else. Before, even though he was charming but there was a certain snake-like quality about him in his sleek chivalry and politeness. That's what I meant. You interpreted it differently but thanx nevertheless for pointing it. I hope your little maths problem regarding Anton's age is solved from the answer given above. Thank you very much for your time and opinions. Please review again.**

**Crius: thanx. Your reviews as always are much appreciated. As far as Bella's emotions, I haven't had much space for her but her old lunatic self will be back once she meets her beloved Master. And as she is playing the role of a mother there has to be a limit to her cruelty. And I don't know why I used Rodolphus. But as Rodolphus was killed by the light side, so it will be easy to depict the light side as cruel to Harry which will increase his motivation to fight the world. Now nobody can exactly say that the ministry or Order or anyone for that matter, has been cruel to Voldemort can they? And as for Harry and Ginny, don't worry. I've got plans. Thank ypu for your time and suggestions. Please review again.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter.**

**You know if you don't like how the story is going, please tell me. Please write something. I did not have a single review for the last chapter. If that happens for this chapter also, maybe I'll stop writing.**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy. And R&R.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**AAAAAAAA**

Chapter 5

_A YEAR LATER_

Anton was running through the village. This ritual had been going on for too long; longer than he could remember. The Sun still had about half an hour to peek out of the horizon but he had already reached his home. He had become fast and his stamina had increased considerably since when he first started.

Anton entered through the front door. His mother was not in the living room listening to the radio which meant that she was still asleep. He quietly went to his room to take a bath and get changed.

He took his bath, got ready and went into the living room. His mother still wasn't awake so he decided to make some breakfast for both him and his mother. He knew she would be up soon. Anton went into the kitchen and waved his wand thrice. The stove lit up, the frying pan flew over to it and sausages began frying themselves. Another few flicks meant that tea was being made in another teapot. He sat on a chair near the dining table as he waited for the breakfast to cook. He loved cooking. It calmed his mind.

This last year had been quite exciting for Anton. His mother had taught him many new spells. Spells which seemed unorthodox but were quite powerful. Spells which gave the caster a considerable edge over his opponent in a duel. This very advanced part of his training had begun after the day when he had actually beaten his mother in a wizard's duel. The next day when he and his mother began duelling he was confident that he would win. But it was much easier said than done. As soon as the fight started his mother sent Fiendfire which formed a ring around him. He didn't understand what was going on as he could easily put out Fiendfire. But he hadn't dreamt of what happened next. The creatures that came out of the fire all around him began shooting spells at him. Anton was shocked. He immediately cast a spherical full-body shield around him but even that couldn't stand for long. The spells finally hit him and he lost consciousness. He woke up about two hours later. Even though he had received some physical injuries but what was hurt most had been his pride. He was so confident that he would win; he had lost in under a minute.

But Anton did not lose heart. He did what he does best-he got up and tried again. And again and again and again. He worked tirelessly until not only could he defend himself against these 'modified' curses but he could also perform them non-verbally.

He was brought back to reality when he felt someone standing near him. He quickly jerked his head sideways and saw his mother standing beside him and watching. He got up quickly from his chair and said, "Good Morning mother!" He looked towards the stove. The sausages had finished frying themselves and the tea was boiling merrily. "Breakfast's ready. Would you like some?"

"Yes. Turn on the radio" said his mother.

Anton waved his hand toward where the radio was and it started. This was an achievement of his training that he was proud of and was very eager to explore. In the last six months he had devoted most of his time to refine his duelling skills. He liked a more graceful way of duelling that wasn't accompanied by huge bangs every time he cast a spell. Because in his years of learning magic, Anton had learnt that huge explosions and puffs of smoke didn't mean a better or more effective spell. He had also decided to breach the subject of wandless magic. He had once heard his mother mention it but hadn't paid much attention as he had been busy trying to perform non-verbal spells. But now he had time and so he decided to ask his mother. Turned out that even she didn't know much. She herself could perform only the most basic spells wandlessly. When he had asked his mother why stronger spells couldn't be performed she told him to drop the subject and told him, "Make sure you never lose your wand. Then you wouldn't have to worry about wandless spells."

"Am I going to get breakfast today or what?" asked his mother angrily.

"Oh sorry mother. Right away." said Anton and quickly piled up the sausages on a plate and poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of his mother. She was tuning the radio as usual for the news.

Anton started eating his breakfast as his mother tuned to the news. It was the time for the international news. His mother never missed it. She always tuned on time. Anton believed it was because she wanted to know what was going on back at her home. He wondered if they had any relatives back in Britain where his parents had originally lived.

The newsreader began reading the news, "_And in sensational news_ _the International Quidditch World Cup has been in news all over Britain for reasons other than sporting action. The night of the final encounter between Ireland and Bulgaria saw the re-emergence of the long perished group of dark wizards known infamously as the Death Eaters. After the match this group of wizards clad in black robes and white masks created havoc burning down the tents of spectators who had arrived from over five continents and torturing people, especially the family of a Muggle who was in-charge of the field arrangements. According to some officials of the British Ministry of Magic there have been no deaths and the few injuries conceived are now undergoing treatment at the St._ _Mungo's Hospital._

_But this proved to be just the icing on the cake compared to what followed this onslaught. In the middle of the attack a little away from the gatherings people saw a mark on the sky which had not appeared in the night skies for the past thirteen years. It was a green skull with a serpent tongue famously known as the Dark Mark which was the signature sign of the dark wizard known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This wizard had been killed on the night of Halloween thirteen years ago. The British Ministry has announced this to be the work of some lunatic to frighten the people and have asked the wizarding community not to panic and stay safe. Highly placed sources in the ministry have said that a house-elf has been accused in this connection. The identity of the owner of the concerned elf is still in the dark._

_It is worth mentioning that the Quidditch match was won by Ireland who are now the World Champions despite a valiant effort from the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum."_

Anton was looking at his mother concerned. He knew something was wrong. She was in a very odd position. Her face had gone completely white; she was still sitting on her chair, mouth open and staring at the radio in shock as though she had seen a ghost. Her right hand was clutching her left forearm very tightly.

Anton could not have been prepared for what happened next. His mother suddenly stood up, tuned off the radio and looked at him, "You have got ten minutes; pack everything you need. We are going home."

AAAAAAAAA

It was past midnight. The vast night sky was completely dark without a single star in it. It was a cloudy night. The moon was nowhere to be seen. The village of Little Hangleton was sleeping quietly. Apart from the few drunkards in the village pub there was no sign of activity. There was nothing odd to notice. But had anybody been actually looking for something odd they would have seen the windows of a room lit in the old Riddle Manor. Why was this supposed to be odd? Because no one lived in Riddle Manor. No one had for over fifty years. The caretaker did not live in the manor. So this was indeed odd. This same window had been lit for quite a number of days now. One man, the caretaker, Frank had noticed this one night and that had been the last night of his life. The reason was simple. He had gone into the room. The people staying there were not the kindest. Actually Lord Voldemort and his followers had never been of the kind sort.

Tonight was the same as all other nights had been. In a large chair with its back towards the door of the room, a small baby-like shape in a bundle of robes was sitting. Beside the chair, kneeling down with his head bowed was one of the most pathetic humans to have walked on Earth. His name was Peter Pettigrew or as his friends had called him- Wormtail. He was almost bald with a few hairs on the side and back of the head and at present was slightly trembling with fear.

"So Wormtail," said the creature on the chair, "I believe the ingredients required for the potion are all ready?"

"Y-Yes M-Master, the potion, the bone and the f-flesh are all ready. Now all that remains is the-"

"Blood. I know. I have given this matter some thought. Yet Lord Voldemort-"

Wormtail visibly shuddered at the mention of his beloved Master's name.

Voldemort continued as though uninterrupted, "-knows the importance of the blood. The stronger it is the better will be my new body. But I don't know whom to take. My first choice was Dumbledore."

This time Wormtail actually stuttered with fear, "M-Master p-please, I-"

"Shut up Wormtail. I have decided against it long ago. I will be very vulnerable and he would ruin the entire plan. And I also don't expect you to be able to utter a single syllable in front of him let alone a spell."

Wormtail somewhat relaxed at this.

At the same moment a huge snake came slithering into the room and went straight to the chair and wrapped herself around it with her head coming to rest in front of the baby-Voldemort.

"Nagini!" Voldemort hissed, "Did you get your dinner?"

The snake hissed giving Wormtail no idea what she meant.

"I have been having problems Nagini." Voldemort said almost lost to himself, "I have no idea whose blood to take. I don't know whose blood would be strong enough to take but even without endangering my plan."

"Whoever it is, I have to do it quickly. I am getting bored this body." said Voldemort almost sounding bored. "But before that, we have to get a back a very faithful servant of mine from his unwanted father."

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**I HAVE GOT A QUESTION FOR EVERYONE. WHOSE BLOOD SHOULD I MAKE USE OF? SHOULD I USE ANTON'S OR SOMEONE ELSE'S? PLEASE GIVE YOUR OPINIONS. THANK YOU.**

**So that's it. How was it? Please waste a couple more minutes and drop a review.**

**And as you all know, I have no reviews to reply to.**

**THANK YOU ALL.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back. Pretty soon, isn't it? You don't seem to realise what your reviews mean to me. I got a single review for the last chapter even though there were over 410 hits in the first two days. This review had two words only. This chapter wasn't supposed to be written so soon. But just two words made me write a new long chapter. This is the longest chapter I have written so far over 2800 words. 2.8k in return of 2 words. Not a bad bargain ha?**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**And oh yeah! Just remembered...R&R.**

**I wrote this pretty fast. So please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**AAAAAAAA**

Chapter 6

When Anton woke up in the morning two days later, it took him some time to realise where he was and what he was doing there. He remembered the event two mornings ago. As soon as his mother had ordered him to pack, he had waved his wand once, which flew his dish with his half completed breakfast into the sink and had run to his room immediately to pack his things. His first problem was that he had never packed in his entire life as he had never left the house and as a result did not have a trunk. He had almost reached his door to go and ask his mother about it when he remembered the look on her face and decided to go for the easier option. He conjured a trunk.

The next problem was that he had no idea what to take and what to leave. And even after he decided that, he did not even have a cat in a hell's chance of completing it in ten minutes two of which had already been wasted. But there were a few things in his advantage. One was that he did not have many possessions and the other which was more important was that he knew magic. Not household spells of course, he did not have the faintest of ideas about them but there were other ways.

Anton raised his wand, thought about all his clothes and said, "_Accio clothes_".

It was a good thing he did not own many clothes because all the clothes came hurtling out of his wardrobe and flew straight at him. Anton did not duck in time. He fell to the ground by their force and was covered in a small heap of robes and undergarments. Frustrated, he picked up everything and unceremoniously dumped them into the trunk. He changed himself into a pair of travelling robes, put the clothes he was wearing in his trunk, took his father's picture of the table, looked at it and put it in with the clothes as well. He also took the sheaves of parchment lying on the table which had some of the notes that he had prepared during his training, put them in the trunk and then closed the lid. He was ready and with a couple of minutes to spare. He picked up the trunk and was about to leave when his eyes fell on a number of very small stones now lying on an otherwise empty table top. A small smile appeared on his face. He put down his trunk and raised his hand toward the table and thought, "_Accio stones". _The five stoneslying on the table flew straight to his hands. Anton's smile grew even bigger. He had succeeded in performing non-verbal spells wandlessly only a couple of times in the past. He pocketed four of the stones keeping one in his hand, picked up his trunk and went out into the living room.

His mother had not yet arrived and Anton decided to finish his unfinished breakfast. He sat down on his trunk, took out his wand and transfigured the stone in his hand into a juicy apple. He had just finished eating when his mother came out of her room still looking pale and beckoned to him to follow her out of the house. He did as he was told.

Once they were outside she turned towards the house and raised her wand. Anton did not know what she was doing. But what she did took him by shock. She muttered a strong curse which blew apart half the house and set the rest on fire.

The realisation hit him with an impact almost physical. He realised that this was the last time he would see the place that he had been calling home ever since he could remember. Although Anton knew that this place was not his real home but he could not help feel a pang of sadness and loneliness at seeing the burning house in front of him. Before he could even capture the scene entirely, his mother took his arm and turned.

In the split second before disapparating away, Anton had a sudden flash in his mind of another house in a far forgotten place burning just like their house and heard a low rumbling sound. And they were gone.

Anton opened his eyes. He had felt asleep again dreaming about the house on fire and the low rumble. His mother was beginning to stir. She wasn't as affected by their travelling as he was. Maybe it was as she had told him due to the fact that she had travelled like that before and that too with a baby. For the last two days they had been just travelling. Surprisingly enough they had crossed borders of three different nations in two days. The crossing of borders and most of the travelling had involved unauthorised portkeys but at times they had to apparate. It wasn't worth the risk to make portkeys in the more secure places. They had reached Britain yesterday in the evening tired and exhausted. His mother had decided to apparate to a forest in the countryside and rest the night there. She said that she did not want any more unauthorised portkeys in Britain. And so for the second night they had slept in a forest.

Both mother and son got up, ate the food that they had stolen the day before and got ready to move again. Anton began removing the protective enchantments that he had placed the previous night and also any traces to indicate that they had been there while his mother watched. Once they were done his mother took his arm again and disapparated.

AAAAAAA

It was almost seven in the evening. Bellatrix was walking down an alleyway. They had reached the outskirts of London almost at noon and she had picked out an old pub with lodging facilities as their temporary residence. She had left the boy there and immediately come out to do some research. She had altered her appearance somewhat with a few spells. She had short blond hair and blue eyes and looked much older than her actual age.

She had done quite a bit a bit of digging in some of the places that she had known earlier of course under the disguise. This made it a bit difficult to prize out any information at all. Had the scumbags known who they were talking to they would have knelt down and sung everything out to her. But everyone has their price. It only took the right kind of bargain to get what you wanted.

But even after asking as much as she could without arousing many suspicious eyes, Bellatrix found out that no one had any concrete information on who had actually cast the Dark Mark. She wasn't interested about the torturers. She knew they were the ones that had escaped Azkaban; bloody Malfoy and the lot of them. What she was concerned about was the caster of the Mark. None of them could have cast it. They had betrayed the Dark Lord and they did not have the guts to do it. There were only two possibilities; it had to be a loyal Death Eater or her Master himself. And Bellatrix did not know of any other loyal Death Eaters who had stayed out of Azkaban without licking the Ministry's boots other than her. So, however improbable, there was left only one explanation-her Master had returned. Bellatrix's eyes lit up, something they had not done in almost thirteen years. The Dark Lord had returned and she needed to reach to him. And there was only one place where she knew she may actually find something.

Bellatrix had reached a bifurcation. There were two ways going out. She took none. Instead she turned on the spot and disappeared.

AAAAAAA

_The Burrow_ is a wizarding house situated in a wizarding village called Ottery St. Catchpole along with a few other wizarding houses. It is a typical wizarding home and every aspect of it is magical. It has many stories built haphazardly and looks ready to topple over if not for magic. It has many extraordinary features in it. One could be astonished to see the garden outside the house, the beautiful flowers grown there, even the garden gnomes, the wellington boots, the garage filed with ordinary Muggle items, the special clock on the wall which though useless in telling time gives an accurate information about each family member's whereabouts and none so silent the ghoul that lives in the attic. But apart from all these things, like any other house, the most unique feature about _The Burrow _is its occupants. It is the home to the Weasley family, an old pure blood family. It consists of Mr. Weasley, a Ministry official, Mrs. Weasley, an excellent housewife and mother and their seven children, six boys and a girl with three of the boys and the girl still at school.

At this moment the entire family minus Mr. Weasley and his third eldest son was sitting in the living room discussing one thing-the incident at the World Cup.

The whole Weasley family except Mrs. Weasley and also a friend of Ron, the youngest son, had been there. Mrs. Weasley had been worried sick when she had heard of the incident and none of them had even contacted her. The days following the World Cup had been tense. Everything at the Ministry was tense now. Even though the matter of who had cast the Dark Mark had been supposedly solved, but the aftermaths of the Death Eaters' attack were taking its toll. There were complaints about injuries, damages to properties, lack of security and somehow the Ministry was supposed to be responsible for everything. And there was also the never ending threat of the nosiest person on Earth-Rita Skeeter. Anything a Ministry official did in her sight almost surely appeared on the next day's newspaper indicating some sort of limitations of the ministry and somehow everyone bought these stories.

"Looks like the World Cup turned out to be more than the Ministry can chew." Ron said dully.

"No, the World Cup went extraordinarily well. The facilities were perfect. It was just the attack on the last day that has made the Ministry look like a bunch of morons. And somehow everyone has missed the part about how they enjoyed the entire World Cup and just remember the attack." said Bill sounding almost exasperated at the people's behaviour.

"It's always like this." said Charlie, "You do a hundred good things and then just make one mistake. The entire world falls down upon you in an instant."

"Yeah it's exactly like with us." with a very sad expression on his face, "George and I work so hard for the entire year to people laugh but all we get is scolded about our OWLs."

Everyone laughed except Mrs. Weasley who said, "Because OWLs are what help you get a life and money in the real world. And you would do well to understand it soon or you wouldn't have any money to live in the future."

"Don't worry Mum," said Fred with the look of the utmost sincerity on his face, "we are working on it."

Everyone knew what the so-called "work" was. They were what the Twins were calling _Weasleys' Wizard Whizzes. _They were all sorts of prank products with various uses from taking revenge on you classmates or enemies to bunking class. Field testing had not yet been started and everyone was curious to see the results.

Hermione who had been invited over the summer by her best friend Ron to go see the World Cup saw the look on Mrs. Weasley's face quickly changed the subject and said, "I don't understand something."

"Merlin's beard Hermione!" said Ron with a look of mock shock plastered on his face, "I never thought I would live to see the day when I heard you say that."

"Very funny Ronald." snapped Hermione.

"What don't you understand Hermione?" asked Bill inwardly smiling at his little brother and his so-called "best friend's" antics.

"Why did the Death Eaters leave? I mean not that I am sad for it but why did they leave especially after the Dark Mark appeared? They should have been encouraged."

"On the contrary Hermione," replied Bill, "they left _because _the Dark Mark appeared. These were the Death Eaters who had changed their loyalties after You-Know-Who disappeared. They renounced their innocence and blamed everything on him. They said they had been controlled. They had even turned their backs on their fellow Death Eaters who had remained on You-Know-Who's side. Not only that, they had even helped to catch some of them to prove their own innocence."

"So the thing that they fear the most is You-Know-Who himself?" asked Ginny.

"Exactly." replied Bill, "When they saw the Dark Mark they were scared that he had returned and would kill them all. So they turned and fled with their tails between their legs. Does that answer your question Hermione?"

"But isn't You-Know-Who dead?" asked Hermione.

"Everyone thinks so." said Mrs. Weasley, "But Professor Dumbledore says that he will return."

"And we all know how he is always right." Bill finished for his mother.

The entire room was silent, everyone thinking about the conversation that had just happened. Mrs. Weasley saw this and suddenly announced, "Alright, off to bed everyone. It's been enough discussions for one night."

They all got up to go to their respective rooms but everyone was wondering the same thing-if this was what just the appearance of Voldemort's mark could do, what would happen when he actually returned? They would soon find out.

AAAAAAAA

At the same moment miles and miles away, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his study at Hogwarts looking very grim. In front of him, sitting on a chair was the Potions master Severus Snape.

"You know what this means Dumbledore?" said Snape.

"The question is do _you_ Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"I knew what I had signed for and still do."

"Even though the reason you signed for is dead?"

"Yes. Even though _that." _Snape said bitterly.

"That's what I ask of you Severus."

"Why did he have to come back Dumbledore?" asked Snape with a very blank look in his eyes.

"We both knew this was going to happen one day. The day has arrived and all we can do is be prepared so that this time we send him away for good." said the older man.

"That we will." said Severus regaining his emotionless expression and getting up. "I'll take your leave Headmaster." he said.

"Good night Severus." said Dumbledore.

Snape left the office leaving Dumbledore to his own thoughts. The Dark Mark on Severus' arm was getting darker for the first time in thirteen years. This meant only one thing. Lord Voldemort was coming back. He had better be ready for when it happened.

AAAAAAA

The universal topic of discussion, Tom Marvolo Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort was at this moment lost in the same thoughts that had been the most important of his problems the past few days. It was a simple question: Whose blood to take for the revival? But the answer was nowhere to be found.

He had made a mental list of possible candidates. But there was a common problem to them all. They were all highly protected, either by themselves or the Ministry or in some cases Dumbledore.

Had he been fully functional, that wouldn't have been a problem in the least. But now all he depended on was Wormtail. He had become a great liability but was necessary. Even after they got Crouch back, he couldn't be sure.

Lord Voldemort needed someone better, someone stronger. He just didn't know who. The answer was seconds away from entering the Riddle Manor.

AAAAAAA

**So, how was it? Please write and tell.**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: FEW POLLS HAVE BEEN OPENED. FEEL FREE TO VOTE. ONE OF THEM IS VERY URGENT AND ALMOST DECIDED AND REST ARE, SHALL WE SAY "LONG TERM", AND SUBJECT TO MODIFICATIONS.**

**Thank you for reading...**

**KThxBal: thanx. I think that's what will happen. Do review again. I hope I got your name right. At the time of writing this I did not have net access. I wrote it as best as I could remember. **


	8. Chapter 8

**VERY IMPORTANT: Do you want to see Anton at Hogwarts? I want your opinions. There is even a poll for that or you could write.**

**So, I'm back with another chapter. This was supposed to be finished and posted yesterday but it took a bit longer. So, to compensate I have written my longest chapter yet. Enjoy and R&R.**

**This one is over 3600 words.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**AAAAAAA**

Chapter 7

Lord Voldemort was lost in his thoughts when the miserable excuse for a servant Wormtail came scurrying into the room with fright.

"M-Master", Wormtail stammered, "th-there is so-someone in the house. T-the alarm j-just went off."

"And?" said Lord Voldemort, almost bored.

"M-Master, someone just broke into the house. Someone o-other than us, I mean." said Wormtail now almost in his final stage of panic.

"Wormtail!" hissed Lord Voldemort in evident anger. "I may not possess the exceptional intelligence that you nurture in whatever that thing is that you call your brain, but even I don't need to be told twice." Now Wormtail was visibly shuddering. "There is someone in the house. You know your orders. If it's a filthy Muggle, kill them and if it's a wizard or witch, stun them and bring them here. Nagini will be backing you up. Now take your sorry behind out there and do your job. Or would you like some help in recalling the spells?" Voldemort continued with his sarcasm.

"N-No master. Y-You are very k-kind." Wormtail managed to somehow utter and went out to take on the intruder.

"It'll only be another useless Muggle." Lord Voldemort said to himself.

He couldn't be more wrong.

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Bellatrix had entered the Riddle Manor after a very long time. Her last visit here had been a long time ago. The house was still the same. But the house wasn't the least of what she was interested in. She had known her master. She had been his most trusted, beloved follower and knew that if her Master had indeed returned, this was the perfect place to start looking for him. She had seen a light in the Manor and her excitement had risen. Someone was definitely there. Now she was inside the house and her excitement had considerably risen. The inside of the house was pitch black and Bellatrix was more feeling than seeing her way through the house. Her wand was at the ready.

She had entered into what she thought was the living room when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She got tense and stopped walking and pointed her wand in the direction of the landing of the stairs from the upper floor which was just visible in the moonlight that was seeping through a window.

She waited. Slowly a shadow formed on the landing and she saw a short man silhouetted against the window. She sent a silent stunner towards him. The red beam of light cut through the darkness and lit its path before hitting the man who instantly crumpled. But not before she had seen his face. She would recognise that weeping, wailing coward anywhere. But, and now Bellatrix's heart started thumping against her chest with excitement that she had not felt in over a decade, this could mean only one thing. The Dark Lord was here.

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_The night sky was dark, stormy and covered by clouds. There wasn't a single star to be seen. There was no sound at all. Everything was covered in a blanket of silence. The night was so dark that nothing could be seen. Nothing at all. It was like standing in an abyss of darkness. As though all the light had been sucked into it and the harder someone tried to see something, the darker it became. A low sound of thunder rumbling far away could be heard. _

_Suddenly the rumbling started becoming louder. The storm was coming. Things began to come into focus very slowly. A house slowly started coming into existence. The wait was over. The mystery would be solved. The rumbling was becoming even louder. It was really getting very annoying now. _

_The outline of the house was clear now. Its features were now slowly defining themselves. Why was it so slow? The rumbling was almost deafening now. Why couldn't it just stop? The house was more important. The people there were in need of something...no, someone. It was getting very frustrating._

_It was so dark. Only if there was some light..._

_Suddenly, a point of light formed slowly in front of the house as though answering to the need. It slowly turned into a jet of blinding light. Why was there so much light? The rumbling was too much. The jet hit the house..._

_Time stopped. Then slowly the entire house was illuminated in light. The outer walls very slowly started to disintegrate. Mortar began to slowly be ripped apart and started to fly away. _

_Time resumed again. The house was blasted off its foundation and ripped apart. The blast stopped the rumbling in its tracks and everything started to burn._

Anton jolted upright in his bed where he was sleeping. The dream had been so real. This dream about the house had become quite irritating now. Every time he slept he was guaranteed one.

He wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead and got out of the bed. It was almost nine o'clock. His mother had been gone about nine hours now. Once they had arrived here his other had rented a room for two days and left immediately. She had told him to stay there. But she had forgotten to tell him that she would take so long to return. He was still dressed from when they had arrived. He had been so exhausted that he had gone to sleep immediately after his mother had gone without even bothering to change.

Anton had been in trouble. When he had awoken in the afternoon he was very hungry and his mother hadn't returned. He did not have any money with himself and so couldn't buy himself any food. He could have stolen easily from downstairs in the pub but he felt bad enough already after having to steal during their travel. So he had resorted to eating his transfigured fruits and emptied his reserves. Then he had slept off again.

This had been six hours ago. Now he was hungry again and had nothing to eat. He was also worried about his mother. She could take care of herself but she had been tired and even then she had taken off immediately. He didn't even know how to contact her.

There was a sudden knock on her door.

Anton got down from his bed, and went to the door. He opened it and saw his mother standing in front of him. Only she looked different. Not physically, but different. In these nine hours, she had changed. For instance, she was smiling. It wasn't your normal everyday smile but more like an evil one. There were no signs of tiredness in her. She looked rejuvenated. Her eyes were dancing with some sort of excitement. She looked at Anton and said in a strange singsong voice, "O my lovely son. Get ready to leave. I want you to meet someone."

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Anton was standing on the doorway of a very big house with his mother. He had never seen such a big house in his life. He was very hungry. His mother had not given him time to eat. Once she had arrived in his room and told him to get ready, Anton had quickly taken his trunk, shrunk it, put it in his pocket and was ready to leave. His mother had been very happy about something because the entire time she had been singing. There was something very odd going on and Anton had to find out what. He had told his mother that he was hungry but she had just told him that where they were going was much more important than food and he would get to eat later. And so they had left the pub and apparated to a place which Anton had never seen in his life. They had walked a little and reached the house in front of which they were now standing.

His mother entered the house and he followed. Everything was very dark and Anton just followed his mother without seeing anything. They reached a flight of stairs and went up. They reached a room which was lit and his mother stopped. A man came out of the room. As soon as Anton saw the man he felt very sad for him. This man had not lived the most luxurious of lives, he could say. He was bald on the top and his eyes were bloodshot with probably lack of sleep. His cheeks were hollow and his robes looked like a pile of rags. And to highlight his condition of misery, the man was visibly shaking, with cold or fear Anton didn't know. But seeing the weather he guessed it was the later.

His thoughts were cut off when his mother spoke, "Wormtail! Is Master ready to talk to him?"

"Y-Yes Bellatrix." the man managed to stutter. Anton had never heard anyone call his mother by her first name and he wasn't sure it was such a good idea. Either this man was very brave or very foolish. And again Anton was inclined to believe in the later.

He was proved right as in the next moment the man went flying in a blast and then hit a wall and fell down bleeding.

"My name is not to be uttered by some scum like you." Bellatrix said simply. Then she turned to Anton and pointed to the room and smiled, "Surprise!" she said.

Anton took this as his cue and went in. He was aware of his mother following him inside. The light in the room was not very bright but coming from such complete darkness to even a dim light took a few seconds for Anton to adjust his eyes to the light. Slowly the room came into focus. There was nothing much to see. The room was very scarcely furnished. There were a few objects scattered here and there but what occupied everyone's attention was a high backed chair in the middle of the room. He couldn't say whether anyone was sitting on the chair as no one's head was visible over the back of the chair. But the back was very high and could have easily concealed anyone's head. And even the fact that there was no one else in the room and he had been brought such a long way to meet someone made it very unlikely that there was no one sitting on the chair.

His mother went past him to the chair and bowed deeply at its side. Anton was shocked again. His mother bowing in front of someone was an incident Anton had never even thought about in his dreams. Something clicked in his mind. If his mother was bowing in front of someone then it could mean only one thing. But he was supposed to be dead or so he thought. He would find out soon enough.

"Master" his mother said while bowing and confirming Anton's thoughts, "he's here."

"Good." the voice in the chair hissed. Something about the voice made Anton a little uneasy. "Call him here."

His mother got up and came away from the chair near him. She then pushed him in the back and he went to the chair.

As he was walking toward the chair Anton thought about whether he should bow or not. He hadn't yet accepted the man as his own master. So he would not bow.

Anton reached the chair and then went a bit to its side to see the man sitting there.

What he saw made him stagger about 10 steps away from the chair and he only somehow managed not to fall. He looked at his mother lost for words, "What-"

"It's alright." his mother said seeing the fear on his face.

Anton took his mother's reassurance and went forward again. There was no man sitting on the chair. It was some sort of a humanoid baby covered in a pile of robes. It wasn't a sight for everyone to see.

The Master, as Anton had thought to refer to the creature, said, "We finally meet Antonio Lestrange."

Anton didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. It hadn't exactly been a pleasure for him to be hungry for almost six hours and meet whoever this was.

"I had always wanted to meet the son of two of my most favourite followers. I would have met you much before had it not been for the circumstances."

Anton took the 'circumstances' to be the man's death.

"But it's never too late, son. We have met each other after a very long time and I will see to it that we make up for all the lost time. You know Anton, I have a dream. A dream for the wizarding world. But I can talk to you about it later. First of all, I must know if you are by my side as your mother is and always has been, as I have come to know tonight. And for that I must give you an explanation. An explanation of some events that occurred thirteen years ago. It is a long story and before I start, I would like you to make yourself comfortable first."

"Bella!" the Master said to his mother "Conjure some chairs."

His mother bowed and conjured two chairs with a wave of her wand.

Anton took one of the chairs and sat beside the Master.

"Is there anything else you require my child?" the Master asked.

"Um...I am very hungry." replied Anton.

"Wormtail!" the Master shouted.

The bald man that his mother had punished came into the room and bowed to the chair, "Y-Yes Master?"

"Arrange for some food for our guests quickly." the Master commanded.

"R-Right away Master." The man said and bowed out of the room.

"Is that all right Anton?" the Master asked in a loving voice, even though it just managed to make Anton feel more uncomfortable.

"I guess." Anton replied nevertheless.

"Alright then. Now Anton, I believe your mother hasn't gone into the details of her life or the times and events before you were born?" 

"No, she hasn't."

"There is a reason why she has done that. She was afraid. She was worried about your well-being and safety. But now, things have changed and the time has come that you know your heritage and you choose a path. The time has come that you choose between good and evil and lead people on your path."

"I don't understand what you are trying to say." Said Anton very confused about what this creature was trying to say.

"Pardon me. I was not very clear. I will start from the beginning."

The Master continued, "Magic, Anton, is a gift, a very special gift that very few of us has been fortunate enough to receive. Some of us, like you are born in families having a long line of wizards and witches and know about it from the beginning whereas others, like me, for instance come to know about it few years later. When I was told that I was a wizard and when I saw the various aspects of the wizarding world, I will admit that I was overwhelmed. I explored my magical abilities to an extent that had not been reached before. After I got out of school, I researched for many long years and then once I became satisfied with the results, I returned. I returned to the same school that had taught me how to control my magic. I had broached different subjects to very deep levels and I wanted to share my knowledge and experience with the upcoming generations and pass it on. And what better way to do this than teach in a school. So I went to my old school, Hogwarts in search for a teacher's post."

He paused for a while then again continued, "The Headmaster was surprised on seeing me. He hadn't been in that post when I was at school but he had been my teacher. I told him about my intentions. I thought that he would be happy and proud of me. I had hoped that he would recognise my passion of teaching just like his own. But alas!" he sighed "this was not to be. Instead of seeing me as an ally, he saw me as a threat. He understood immediately that in the years that I had been researching, I had become wiser and stronger than him. He knew I was more powerful but he did not know how much. People fear what they don't know, Anton. And he acted out of his own fear. That day I had gone there not alone, but with a few of my allies. He threatened to kill me and my allies if I did not leave the country. I left, but not to flee, to rebel. To stand against this wizard who had become so infatuated by his term of power that he had become a tyrant who would stop at nothing to eliminate those that he thought were more powerful than him."

"At first I had thought that he was too possessive of his desk and so he had acted out of fear of losing it when he had seen me. But later I realised that the post wasn't the least of what he was concerned about. He had formed a secret group of people who aided him in his crimes. In return they could perform whatever monstrosities wherever they wanted and had full judicial immunity as a result of the Headmaster's contacts. I wanted to put an end to this. So I made a group of followers myself to stop the atrocities that this man performed. At first he was ignorant but slowly he began experiencing the same fear that he had felt in his office that day. Only this time of being caught and recognised for the villain that he was. So he retaliated and we countered. A war began. There were deaths on both sides. I killed some myself. I had to. But I avoided killing if I saw a scope of change. For the world we were the bad side who were killing insanely for power and he was the saviour sacrificing everything for others. And they helped him happily."

"We were losing. Slowly our side became weaker and smaller. I was framed time and time again for murders that I wouldn't even dream of committing. But the damage was done. I and my followers were banished from the society and huge prices named for our dead bodies. He didn't stop there. He wanted to weed out possibility of any future threat. He personally came after three of us-me, your mother and your father. I was separated from them and he cornered me into a house where he had killed the family of one of his followers. You see, he sacrificed them to frame me and then he attacked me from behind. He sent the killing curse at me which hit me. He thought I had died and left making it look like I had come to kill the family and we all had died in the fight that ensued."

"Only I came back. Though late, but I still came back and this time I will have my revenge. Albus Dumbledore will pay for all the crimes that he has committed. I will avenge the death of each and every one of my followers. He will pay for killing them, for killing your father, for separating your mother from her husband and for ripping apart the childhood that should have been yours. I have my own physical limitations now but they will be rectified in a few days. And once that is done revenge will be mine. I just ask one thing of you now, Anton, will you help me in my fight to avenge your father and all those who sacrificed their lives for what they believed was right?"

Anton wiped away the tears that had come out of his eyes looked once at his mother and then said to the Master, "I will."

"Then this time victory will be ours."

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**How was it? I hoped you enjoyed it and will write to let me know.**

**Thank you all for reading...**

**Now to the reviewers of my earlier chapter**

**KThxBai: thanx. I wanted to write about the other characters too so that I could keep everyone up to date with what was happening everywhere. They will have bigger roles in the upcoming chapters. Keep reading and do review again. Thank God I got your name right.**

**StephanieSnape: thanx. You made my day...no, week a hundredfold better with your review. I am glad that you enjoy reading the story. Knowing this makes writing even more enjoyable. I had been keeping Bellatrix so quiet because she was supposed to be a mother, wasn't she? But now that she is back with her beloved Master, she will definitely pick it up. I tried it a little in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Hope you keep loving, reading and reviewing. So long...**

**Fez8745: thanx. I'll keep trying my best. Hope you keep reading the story and do review again.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi there! Remember me? What...? Um no, I was not dead. Still alive and typing for the moment. You know, I had just sort of hit a phase when I just didn't want to continue this anymore. I had just given up. There were some other factors contributing towards it, the biggest being my joining a new college and you know that takes some time to sink in. But I think now I have an idea about where I want to go with this and will try to post regularly again. **

**And yeah! I AM SENDING ANTON TO HOGWARTS. Any particular choice for a house?**

**So, without further ado, I give you the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Reviews as always will be much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!**

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CHAPTER 8

The first of September every year is a special day for some sections of the British wizarding community because on this day the children of a few of them take their first step towards their magical education and the children of a larger fraction start another train journey to continue their education and take a step closer to their desired careers. Today was nothing different. As the time neared eleven in the morning, King's Cross station started witnessing a sudden increase in activity. Somewhere between platforms nine and ten, in a magically constructed platform, students and parents started pouring into in numbers. The place was Platform nine and three-quarters, the magical railway platform, from where the train called Hogwarts Express started and took the students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As eleven o'clock neared, the commotion began to increase. Trunks were being lifted into compartments; last-minute goodbyes being said and the last of arrivals were being hurried through the magical barrier and sent into the train.

Finally, the clock struck eleven and the engine hooted the horn releasing a puff of smoke. The parents on the platform backed off a little and the train started to move slowly picking up pace. Those on the platform began raising their hands and waved last goodbyes and hands popped out of the windows waving back to their loved ones. The train picked up its pace, turned around a corner and disappeared. Another year in Hogwarts was about to begin.

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Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in the Riddle Manor in Little Hangleton, Antonio Lestrange was busy preparing. Preparing for what was about to become a night which would mark the beginning of the Second Wizarding War. The night when Lord Voldemort would be revived in the graveyard of Little Hangleton.

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Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office looking older than he had looked in ages. In front of him was the potions master with an equally worried look on his face.

"The mark is getting darker every day. It's almost complete. It won't be long before the Dark Lord returns. What will we do Dumbledore?"

"The return is inevitable now Severus." said Dumbledore, "As I said all we can do now is to be prepared."

"Alright. What will you do about the school? It will be one of his biggest targets once he is back. We have to ensure the safety of the students."

"I have taken some steps. The enchantments have been strengthened."

"But that's not enough, Dumbledore. You know that." said Severus frustrated at the headmaster's lack of action.

"I know, Severus but that's all I can do for now. The Ministry cannot be approached. They will not see any apparent threat. However, in a few days' time, the situation will be different. Then I will ask Cornelius for the Auror services."

"But what if he strikes immediately? We will be helpless then."

"I am confident he won't. Lord Voldemort may be powerful himself but he will not have an army strong enough to take on the entire Castle immediately after he comes back. So my guess would be that we are safe for almost another year."

"And what about the Tournament? You can't seriously want it to continue anymore?"

"No I don't. But I cannot tell Cornelius now. He has a lot riding on this Tournament's success after what happened at the World Cup."

"So you will let it continue knowing that it would be the perfect platform to strike?

"I didn't say that. But at present there is no possible way to stop the tournament. We have to wait and let the situation unfold with time. Actually, I was hoping to ask Cornelius for the Auror services in pretence of security for the Tournament. That is what I meant when I told you that the situation would be different in a few days."

"If you say so. I have something else to ask you."

"At last we come to the point." said Dumbledore smiling slightly.

"And what does that mean?" asked Severus.

"I know you well enough to know that the safety was not what was actually concerning you Severus. So what is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"What is my position in all this Dumbledore?"

"Ah, I knew we would be coming to that. And my answer is your position has not changed at all. You will do what you promised me to do thirteen years ago. You are to return to Voldemort as and when he calls you. You know what to do after that."

"But the reason I agreed to do all that...the...b-boy...he's gone."

"As I said, your position has not changed whatsoever. The boy may be dead but I still need you."

"As you wish, Headmaster. The students will be arriving in a few hours. I will take your leave." said Severus getting up.

"Yes, I have a few preparations to make myself. Good day Severus. I will see you at the feast."

Severus turned and left the room. He didn't know it yet but this day was going to be a long one. 

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"RAVENCLAW", exclaimed the Sorting Hat for the last time that night as Elton Finn was sorted into Ravenclaw. The Sorting for the new term had ended. As always Professor McGonagall took away the Hat and Professor Dumbledore stood up to give his welcome speech.

He looked around and scanned the entire great Hall looking over his half-moon glasses. A smile appeared on his face and opening his arms wide in welcome he said, "Welcome! To our first-years, welcome and to the old herd welcome back to another year at Hogwarts."

Everybody clapped enthusiastically.

"I have a few things to tell you." said Dumbledore. "But they can wait till after the feast. Tuck in!"

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Antonio Lestrange was waiting in his room in the Riddle Manor. He hadn't felt this anxious before in his life. He had been pacing across the room for the last two hours. It was two hours before when his mother had taken the Dark Lord and set off for the graveyard with Wormtail trotting behind. Two hours and yet no news. The ritual was supposed to be short. Maybe they wanted to wait till it was darker or maybe they had a particular time in mind. It would be something like that. Of one thing he was sure, they wouldn't encounter much danger. And even if they did his mother was more than capable of defending herself.

Satisfied with his logic, he decided to rest a while and sat on the edge of his bed, his feet touching the floor. He rested his hands on his knees, interlocked the fingers and bent a little to stare at his feet. Then he let out a huge sigh. His mind had become strained since he had left his house. His thoughts had become muddled and he was becoming increasingly frustrated. There was much going on and he didn't understand most of it. It had all been too much to absorb so quickly.

So to clear his mind and get his thoughts organised he closed his eyes and started taking slow and deep breaths and let the tension flow out of him into the ground. Slowly his mind and body began to relax and a sense of calm spread over him. He became oblivious to what was going on elsewhere. His feet still touching the floor, he leaned back and lied down on the bed.

He began thinking about all that he had seen and learnt since meeting the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord was sort of a rebel who had recognised the hunger for power of Dumbledore and thus had been conspired against by the Headmaster. He had been shunned out of the community and had almost died. Now he was about to return, with his most faithful follower, Anton's mother, by his side. Every day since he had entered the house had been spent in preparing for this moment of rebirth. A number of potions with a variety of ingredients had been required. These ingredients ranged from everyday potion ingredients to rare things like Unicorn blood. Actually, even Anton had been a part of the ingredient list. Not him directly but few drops of his blood. His mother had explained that a follower's blood was an important ingredient for the revival potion and since he had accepted the Dark Lord as his master, he had a great chance to show his loyalty.

With all the preparations done the party had set off to the graveyard. Anton had been left home. According to his mother the Dark Lord wanted Anton to be elsewhere and would tell it himself to him once he returned. As soon as he returned to his body, all the Death Eaters would be called there. Then the Dark lord would see how many of them were still loyal to him. All those who returned would be forgiven. Those who did not would die. There were some who were still in Azkaban. His mother had actually taught him things about those who were in the Ministry's prison. They would be rescued and richly rewarded. Another was actually in his father's house. Someone called Barty Crouch Jr. He would be rescued immediately after the Dark lord's return.

Anton's thoughts went to the surprise that his mother had told him about. What could the Dark lord have in mind for him? Whatever it was, he would be happy to do anything for the Dark Lord if his mother did not have any problems with it.

These thoughts in mind Anton slowly went to sleep.

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Ron was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room with Hermione, Ginny and Neville. They had arrived from the welcome feast an hour ago and while some had already gone to bed others were still there talking and yawning. He was thinking about what had happened at the feast. After the feast Dumbledore had introduced the new DADA teacher Professor Lupin whom he had seen long before once in his house with Auror Sirius Black. Then the Headmaster told them the usual rules and when half of the students had started yawning thinking of their comfortable dormitory beds, he had dropped the big announcement. Of course it had been the Triwizard Tournament which Hogwarts would be hosting after a long long time. All the sleepy eyes almost bulged out of their sockets but just as everyone got all worked up, Dumbledore ruined it all by announcing the age limit.

Ron looked over to where his twin brothers were sitting with their heads huddled together with their best friend Lee Jordan. They had taken the age limit bit too hard. Ron was sure they would think of something.

"It would have been better without the age limit, don't you think so?" Ron asked suddenly startling the girls and Neville who were talking something about the new professor.

"Shouldn't matter much to you, not that you would have been selected otherwise." said Ginny smiling at him.

"You never know." said Ron.

"I think this will be the perfect opportunity for us to familiarise with foreign students. We could learn so many things from them, for instance, the education system there, the subjects that are offered, their examination patterns and all the new educational ventures that are being started in the foreign countries, which would be much more useful than some violent competition with students trying their best to stay alive." said Hermione.

Ron, Ginny and Neville looked at each other, each of them trying their best not to laugh. Some people just didn't get it. Not that it could be helped.

They continued like this for a little while longer and when Ron and Neville both looked ready to drop off from their chairs, they all got up and went to bed.

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Tension was at a breaking point in Dumbledore's office. There were a few reasons for that. First was that this room contained two persons who desired to be as further from each other as possible. There were very few instances in recorded history where both these men were at striking distance and none of them had been hurt. These two wizards were Sirius Black and Severus Snape.

The second reason was that in a few moments Lord Voldemort would be returning after a period of about thirteen years. This had been confirmed by the Dark Mark on Snape's handwhich was almost complete.

Dumbledore, Black, Lupin and Snape were all sitting in the room. Dumbledore was in his chair and his three ex-students in front of him with Lupin between the other two. They had been sitting silently for little under an hour, awaiting the dreaded moment when Voldemort would return. Things would have to be set in motion.

A few minutes went and then Snape flinched holding his forearm. He looked at Dumbledore and nodded.

"You know what to do." said Dumbledore looking straight at him.

Snape rose from his chair turned towards the door and strode out of the room.

Now Dumbledore looked at Black and Lupin, "Assemble the Order. I have to talk with Cornelius. The time has come."

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**Hope you guys enjoyed reading. Please post a review on your way...**

**Now to my reviewers...**

**KThxBai: Thanx. You will be seeing Anton/Dark Side interaction now. He is going to Hogwarts. Any choice of house? Do review again.**

**Fez8745: thanx. Looks like you'll forget about the story again this time. Anyways thanks for the encouragement and keep reviewing. Have a choice of house for Anton at Hogwarts?**

**StephanieSnape: Sorrieee I was so late to post. But I think I will be able to continue again now. Thanks again for reviewing. Do review again. And yeah...which house you want Anton to be in?**

**SiriuslyAmazing: It's nice to know you like it. Yeah I am sending Anton to Hogwarts now. Any choice for a house? And sorry for the delay in posting. Hope you review again.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: All right! I'm back with another chapter. I want to take a moment to thank all the readers for their response to the story so far. The number of hits, alerts, favourites and reviews has been quite pleasing to my eyes. You all mean a lot to me. I hope I can continue to keep you interested with the plot in the future. **

**Again as I said, Anton's collision with the Light side is fast approaching. If you have any preferences about what you would like to see, do tell me.**

**That will be all. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Reviews will be much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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**C**hapter 9

"Thank you everyone for arriving at such short notice." Albus Dumbledore began addressing the various members of what was known as the Order of the Phoenix. It was late in the night, almost an hour after midnight. There were an appreciable number of members sitting on both sides of a long table in one of the many rooms of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, the ancestral house of the Black family. Some who had arrived late and had been unable to find a seat were standing against the walls. All the faces were had a similar look which was somewhat of a mixture of frustration, confusion and unmistakably, fear. They were all with their fullest attention fixed upon the headmaster who continued.

"After the first Wizarding War, when the original Order of the Phoenix was disbanded over a decade ago, it was agreed upon by all members that should another such moment of danger arise at any point of time in the future the Order and its members would be called upon by the Head, and it would be reformed to once again achieve the primary goal for which it was originally formed, that is, to eradicate evil and establish peace. Unfortunately, such a situation has arisen and so I immediately called upon all _surviving _members and arranged for this meeting."

"What is going on, Dumbledore?" asked ex-Auror Mad-eye Moody, both natural and magical eye fixed on Dumbledore.

"Voldemort is back." Dumbledore stated bluntly.

The effect was instantaneous. Almost everyone collectively flinched, Dedalus Diggle dropped his hat and fell off his chair, some of the witches shrieked jumping off their chairs, heads turning everywhere as though they were expecting Voldemort to come out of the curtains and attack them while others looked at Dumbledore as though the Headmaster had lost it.

Finally the chaos subsided and Kingsley Shacklebolt, as calm as ever, asked, "Are you sure, Headmaster?"

"There is no doubt." answered Dumbledore

Kingsley nodded. Several other mouths started to open but Dumbledore stopped them all raising his hand. He said, "Lord Voldemort is indeed back. He was reincarnated hours ago, the details of which I am yet to receive. Many of you will not grasp the situation immediately, but let me tell you it is indeed a very grave one. Time is of the essence here. Every second will be valuable and we cannot afford to lose precious time debating over the facts. So, I will tell you for the last time, Lord Voldemort is back and already rebuilding his army even as we speak. Times now will not be safe anymore and we will have to do everything in our power to protect our families, relatives and friends. I cannot linger on confirming your doubts. Even though you will soon have enough evidence to believe it, if you have any doubts for the time being, then you can take my word for it. I believe I have never given any of you any reason to not trust me. You have to choose what you want to do? Do you want to rejoin the Order and protect your children and families from the evil wizards and witches or do you want to sit idly and watch your loved ones being taken away from you?"

There wasn't a single sound in the entire room. Not even the slightest of movements. They were all in their fixed positions still staring at Dumbledore thinking about what he had just said. Then slowly people began to stir and realised that this was the moment of truth. They had do choose a side.

Slowly Sirius got up and said to the whole room, "I have no doubts," then looking straight at Dumbledore he said, "I'm in." Saying this he sat down.

Lupin got up next and said, "I'm in."

Moody got up and looked at Dumbledore, "You can always count me in."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said together, "We're in."

The Longbottoms said, "We're in."

Then Kingsley, then Dedalus and one by one the entire room, announced their allegiance once again to the Order of the Phoenix.

When the last member had finished and they all took their places, all was quiet again and once again all eyes got fixed on Dumbledore.

Dumbledore looked at those who had been standing and with a twinkle in his eyes said, "I think we'll need some more chairs first."

AAAAAAAA

Snape's head was reeling with pain as he entered the grounds of Hogwarts. It was well past midnight. Actually it was just minutes before dawn break. This had been one of the most trying nights of his life and that was saying something. Using Occlumency constantly against the Dark Lord for an entire night was no mean feat and he doubted anyone had survived after such an attempt. He didn't know why he was still agreeing to do this when he could have easily-

No, he needed to clear his head. He couldn't be so vulnerable even though he was back at school. Facing Dumbledore, even though physically non-fatal, was equally exhausting, if not more. He had reached the statues of the Gargoyles which marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office without realising. He looked at the statues for a moment or so, then took a deep breath and said the password.

AAAAAAA

"Enter" said Dumbledore.

Snape entered.

"Ah Severus! Welcome! Have a seat my dear man, you look exhausted."

"You think so?" retorted Snape sitting in front of the Headmaster.

"I know this has been tiring for you but you know that I need the facts as quickly as possible. I'll try to keep the questions till later. So, what happened?" asked Dumbledore kindly.

"Before I say what happened, you should know this, Bellatrix is back."

Dumbledore sighed and then nodded urging Snape to go on.

Snape then took a deep breath and continued, "After I got out of the grounds, I apparated straight to where the Dark Lord was. It was in between some sort of a graveyard. I am not sure but I have a pretty good guess that it was at the village where the Riddle manor is. The Dark Lord was standing near a tombstone with Bellatrix laughing like mad at his side and Wormtail licking their boots. I think I was the last to arrive and when I arrived there was a look of surprise on the Dark Lord's face. He hid it quickly and came and asked me why I had come back."

"I replied as we had planned. It actually had quite an effect on all the gathered Death Eaters but then I explained the Dark Lord my reasons. He accepted my explanations but only for the moment." Snape stopped a little and then told Dumbledore about what Voldemort had told them about his existence during the last thirteen years and about meeting Wormtail and then Bellatrix. He continued, "Once all this was over the others were sent home and the Dark Lord took me to the Riddle Manor with Bellatrix and Wormtail. There he questioned me thoroughly and I answered each question patiently not letting my guard down for even a single moment. Only once he was completely satisfied was I allowed to leave. That was all that happened. Then I came back here."

"You have done very well Severus." said Dumbledore looking proudly at the potions master. I have a few questions to ask but they can wait. I think you should rest now. Classes will start in a few hours. Will you be able to take your classes? I could cancel them for the day if you wanted. The students wouldn't mind, I'm sure." said Dumbledore smiling a little.

"No but thank you, Headmaster. I think I will leave. Maybe you should rest a little too." said Snape getting up.

"I'll see to that." replied Dumbledore.

Snape nodded and went out of the room.

AAAAAAAA

Sirius and Remus were both sitting in the kitchen of the Sirius' house with a glass of firewhisky each. It had been a long night which had lasted till about three-thirty in the morning. Everybody had gone home after that and they had sat down to discuss what had happened at the meeting and what would be their roles from now on.

But they were more concerned about another thing also. What they were talking about now was none other than one of the four marauders-Peter Pettigrew also known as Wormtail.

Wormtail had been on their mind for a large part of the previous year. He had betrayed the Potters which had resulted in the deaths of the entire family and had then fled once the news of his Master's apparent demise had reached him. The Ministry had searched for him relentlessly but to no avail.

Sirius and Remus knew the reason. Everyone was looking for a wizard, not a rat. The Ministry had eventually declared him presumed dead. Both of them knew better and had kept on searching for all these years but to no avail.

It was the previous year when they had given up any hope of finding the traitor when one of Sirius' foreign contacts had contacted him with news of Wormtail. Without a second thought both of them had given up their work and prepared to leave. Sirius had taken an indefinite leave from all Auror duties. People had been curious but no one could say anything. This was the first leave that he had asked for during his entire working career. Lupin had given up his post at Hogwarts even before getting to start his teaching career apologising sincerely to Dumbledore. Both of them had left after that.

They had searched for six months during which they had almost caught him twice but both the times the traitor had managed to escape and after the second time the trail had become cold. They concluded that he had decided to leave the country. After that they had no choice but to return back home and resume their work.

This was easier for Sirius who was on leave. Remus had once again effectively become unemployed. Dumbledore had got informed of his return and had promised to give him the post the coming session as he was sure no DADA professor could stay for more than a year. And true to his word he had once again offered Remus the post this year which he had gladly accepted. He was to start his classes from today.

"What do you think Remus?" asked Sirius.

"I think we should talk to Dumbledore. He will know if Wormtail is with Voldemort. Severus will have seen him." replied Remus.

"Day after tomorrow is Sunday. That's when the next meeting is scheduled to be. We'll ask him then."

"All right. There isn't much time left but I think we should get whatever sleep we can. I have my first class in a few hours and you have your duties."

"Okay professor." replied Sirius smiling and they both got up and went into their rooms yawning.

AAAAAAA

It was late in the afternoon when Anton got up. He watched the room. It was as it had been in the morning when he had come to sleep. His hand went to his forehead. There was still a dull throbbing in his head even though last night's pain had significantly subsided. After he had slept the first time getting tired of waiting for his mother, he had been woken up by something that was feeling uncomfortable. He realised his head was paining. It wasn't the normal headache. It was a pain he had never experienced before. It felt like his head was being stabbed by a thousand knives. It was as though his head was on fire and would be split with the pain. He writhed on his bed gripping the bed sheets tightly.

The pain increased even further. I was the most unbearable where his scar was. It was as though his head was being cut along his scar. Anton hadn't been up for too long after that and lost consciousness.

Next time he had woken up, he was looking at his mother who looked like she was over the moon. Then he understood. The Dark Lord had returned.

He had quickly dressed up and then his mother had taken him to where the Dark Lord was.

The Dark Lord was waiting for Anton. He was sitting in his high backed chair in the same room that he had been staying in all these days. He was as far from human as anything Anton had ever seen. His face was as pale as white marble, slits in place of a nose and two red contracted pupils in the eye. His body itself was tall and thin and he had a bald head. His fingers were long and he was wearing pure black robes. There was an aura of mysteriousness and power that surrounded him.

And he was looking at Anton with what looked like a smile. Unable to think of anything else to do, Anton bowed saying, "Master! Welcome back."

"You get to see me, finally." said the Dark Lord. What was surprising was that after this he came directly to the point. He said, "Anton, are you prepared to do what is necessary?"

Anton knew the gravity of this question but he was determined when he replied, "Yes Master, I will do anything to avenge my father's death and Dumbledore's injustice."

"Good. That's what I expected from you. Now step forward."

Anton went nearer to the Dark lord who got up. He was taller by about a head than Anton. "Put your left hand forward." he said.

Anton did as told.

The Dark Lord took Anton's left hand in his left hand and with his right hand took out his wand and placed it on Anton's left forearm.

Anton felt the pain for the second time in the night, this time both in his head and in his head but he stayed still. The pain was brief and lifted quickly.

The Dark Lord lifted his wand and said, "You are now fully one of us."

Anton watched his hand. There on his previously bare skin was the Dark Mark. He, Anton, was now a Death Eater. "Thank you Master!" he said, "I will never let you down."

"I expect no less from you. You have a legacy to maintain." said the Dark Lord pointing at his mother. "Now Anton, I have a mission for you. Do you think you will be able to do it?"

"Even if it cost me my life. What is it that you want me to do Master?"

The Dark Lord looked intently at Anton. To Anton's credit, his gaze never wavered. Then finally, the Dark Lord said, "I want you to go to Hogwarts."

AAAAAAA

**So, how was it? I hope you all liked it. The next chapter is expected to come out near Christmas time. I have exams coming up from next week.**

**Post a review on your way...**

**Now to my reviewers-**

**SiriuslyAmazing: thanx. I am happy you liked the chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one as well. As far as your choice for house is concerned, I have to admit, you seem to think outside the box. I like it. I hadn't thought about them at all. Just when I saw your review I realised that I could do with a well plotted twist. Thank you for that. But finally I'll have to decide which will be the best decision keeping in mind the plot and characters. And when I do, I hope you like my decision. Keep reviewing...**

**AzraelLilith: thanx. It's nice to receive a positive review. I am glad you like the idea and my portrayal of the characters. I couldn't have put the differences between Anton and the cannon Harry better than what you did. Again, your choice for house is interesting. I'll be keeping that in mind. The final decision will have to be mine. And when I do decide, I hope you will like it. Do review again...**

**FeartheOrdinary: thanx. New Reader! Excellent! I hope you told your friends about it(hee hee! You know, doing some publicity stuff!). On a serious note, I am glad you liked the chapter. As far as your choice for house is concerned, I thank you for putting in your views. I'll keep them in mind while deciding. I hope you like my final decision. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Keep reviewing...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: hey guys! What's up! Another chapter is up. My exams are almost finished now with just a practical more to go. And I had a four day gap in between which gave me plenty of time to finish this one. If all goes good we may have the next chapter up by Christmas too.**

**Here comes Chapter 10. Enjoy!**

**Reviews will again be much appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!**

**AAAAAAA**

Chapter 10

A WEEK LATER

Albus Dumbledore was sitting on his chair in his office and in front of him was sitting the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. It had been a visit from the Minister which the Headmaster had not expected. Especially after what had happened about ten days ago.

Dumbledore had gone to meet the Minister immediately after Voldemort had returned. He had to inform the Minister and give him the facts. He wanted to know what would be the Ministry's reaction to this and what would their stand be in such a situation. Fudge's reaction had been worse than what Dumbledore had expected. First he acted as though this was some sort of a joke being played upon him but when he saw that Dumbledore wasn't smiling, he started acting even more weird. He tried to make Dumbledore see reason and told him how absurd the statement was.

The Headmaster tried to make the Minister see sense but his fear had completely taken over. He wasn't ready to even consider the possibility of Voldemort returning. In the end he had asked Dumbledore to leave his office. Dumbledore had left wondering about the number of deaths that it would take Fudge to realise the mistake that he had done.

Honestly, Dumbledore did not care if the Ministry was with him or against him. He did not need them to carry out his plans. It was actually a relief not having to explain each of his steps to Cornelius. But Dumbledore knew that without the Ministry's help he would not be able to save as many lives as he could have with their help. People would be ignorant to the great danger surrounding them. And ignorance killed people. That was what made him sad. But he also knew that the Ministry would come to know the truth ultimately even if it would be a bit late. Voldemort would not stay hidden forever.

And so Dumbledore was surprised to see the Minister for Magic sitting in front of his office at the moment. He himself would have gone to meet him tonight but did not expect Fudge to come here. There had been a change of plans. So before Fudge started saying whatever it was he had come to say, Dumbledore began.

"Look Cornelius," he said, "before you say anything, I wanted to tell you that I am really ashamed of what I did at your office ten days ago. I really am and would like to apologise for trying to mislead you with such lies. It has never been my intentions to come in the way of how magnificently you have run this community. So please do not misunderstand my motives here. It was a mistake which led me to believe something as improbable as Lord Voldemort returning. I sensed a certain rise in the amount of Dark Magic and was searching for it. Coincidentally, one of my sources had gone rogue and told me of Voldemort's return. It was a bad time and as I was already searching for something or someone capable using Dark Magic in such amounts, it made perfect sense to me. Even though it was highly improbable, I trusted my own findings and my informer. It was only a couple of days ago that I realised that things did not add up and I looked into the credibility of the facts. My own research could not be wrong, of that I was confident. So all that was left was the credibility of my informer."

"I have been looking for him for the last two days and only late yesterday night did I find him and then I realised that he had lied to me. He had been running since the day he lied to me. I would have gone to meet you sometime later today but you came yourself and before there could be any misunderstanding between us, I thought it would be best to clear everything. That is all I have to say to you. I would understand if you are not so willing to forgive me."

The Minister was sitting open mouthed and eyes wide open. He sat like that for a couple of seconds and then realising what he had just heard closed his mouth and tried to regain some composure. He clearly had not expected to hear something like this. With an almost relieved expression Fudge said, "My dear man Dumbledore, I will admit that I had not expected you to see the truth so quickly but you always were an intelligent wizard. I must say how very happy I am that the issue has been resolved so quickly. But I can't blame you too much really. What with the World Cup fiasco and now such a high profile international event following immediately, even the best of us are facing some trying circumstances. But don't worry Dumbledore, together we will make this all work out."

Dumbledore smiled. This one had worked out well. It had to be done. Fudge's mind was too much warped by fear and he would not believe the truth until he saw it with his own eyes and that could take some time. He wouldn't have bothered with the Minister otherwise but with such a big event like the Triwizard Tournament arriving, Dumbledore couldn't afford to get the Ministry against him. He had to stay at Hogwarts and protect the students and the foreign guests. If he got alienated with the Ministry they would try to dismiss him and Hogwarts would become vulnerable. Now he would even get the Auror services according to his wish.

Considering the matter resolved, Dumbledore said, "I am sure we will Cornelius. Now that we have got this one settled let us get down to why you came here in the first place."

"What?" began Fudge and then said, "Oh yes! I had completely forgotten Dumbledore. I brought you a late admission."

AAAAAAA

Anton was sitting inside the Minister for Magic's office. He had been waiting anxiously for over an hour now yet no one had come to take him. He had reached the Ministry over an hour ago with Mr. Malfoy and come to the Minister's office who then went to Hogwarts. Mr. Malfoy had returned home telling Anton to contact him if any problems arose.

So far all was good. It was just taking longer than what he expected. Anton wasn't comfortable inside the Ministry at all. He knew these were the people who blindly followed the evil Dumbledore and had killed his father. He felt very suffocated inside the spacious room.

It had been a week of planning, planning and more planning for Anton, his mother, Mr. Malfoy and the Dark Lord. It had been a proud moment for Anton when he had been inducted not just into the fraternity of Death Eaters but into the dark Lord's inner circle itself. There was no bigger achievement to have in a lifetime than that, his mother had told him proudly. Since then the four of them had been planning on how to get Anton to Hogwarts and once he did what were the situations he was likely to face and how he would tackle them. The question of getting him into the school right under Dumbledore's nose had been quickly solved, however.

It was a very ingenious plan that had been developed. Mr. Malfoy had taken Anton one day and brought him to the Ministry to meet the Minister. Mr. Malfoy was very rich and had contacts almost everywhere. He knew the Minister himself on personal terms. "It only takes a bag of gold, and you can have the entire system in your hand." Mr. Malfoy had told him. To the Minister he had said that Anton was his dark secret. He was Mr. Malfoy's illegitimate son whom he had kept hidden all these years away and trained him privately in magic. But it had become unbearable for Mr. Malfoy to keep his son so away from him trained by strangers. He wanted to keep his son near him and the only way he could do so was by sending him to Hogwarts. He didn't want this secret to get out to the wizarding community and so apparently had asked the Minister for a favour in return for all these years of financial support to his campaigns. Minister Fudge would tell the same story to Dumbledore not mentioning Mr. Malfoy's name but only referring as a close friend of his who didn't want to be known but wanted the best possible magical training for his son. Apparently situations like these weren't unheard of among the higher aristocrats and knowing the kind of friends that a Minister for Magic would have Dumbledore would not expect any foul play here.

Anton had been thinking all this when suddenly the fireplace in the Minister's office erupted into flames and the Minister stepped out of it. He looked at Anton and called him, "Come my boy! Let's get you into a school."

AAAAAAA

Meanwhile inside the Malfoy Manor which had now become the official Headquarters of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, Bellatrix, Lucius and the Dark Lord were sitting at one end of the long table that was used for the Death Eaters' meetings.

The Dark Lord said, "This will be a great achievement if the boy gets into the school right under Dumbledore's nose."

Malfoy bowed his head to his Master then replied, "It indeed will be, Master. There is no room for error. The story was excellently framed and I gave Fudge no reason to suspect it."

"I am not worried about that idiot Fudge; I am worried about what the boy will do in front of that old fool."

Bellatrix who had been quiet so far replied, "You need not worry about that my Lord. The boy will be all right. He is _sooooo _determined to avenge his father, he will not falter. I have raised him his entire life for this."

"Nobody could have done a better job than you Bella. You have done more than I asked of you and you will be rewarded for that." the Dark lord said.

Bellatrix looked like there was nothing better in the world to hear. She bowed her head and replied, "Bellatrix lives to serve you Master."

"As does the Malfoy family." said Lucius.

"Yes yes, you both will be rewarded for your services." said the Dark Lord exasperated with these old antics.

Lucius sensed his Master's irritation and changed the subject, "What will you ask of the boy once he gets in, My Lord?"

The Dark Lord thought a little and then replied, "My goals have not changed from what they were thirteen years ago. The boy is nothing special. The prophecy is still valid as long as he is lives. He cannot provide me anything that I don't already know or have. This is just a little entertainment for me. He has the ability wreak havoc among Dumbledore and his supporters. That is what he will do and once that is done I will kill Harry Potter myself."

AAAAAAA

Anton's view came into focus as he stopped whizzing through fireplaces and stepped out into the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. The Minister followed him out of the fireplace and brushing soot off his robes put a hand on Anton's shoulder and beckoned him forward.

The room was large and circular in shape. The walls were lined with portraits of old wizards and witches who were busy doing things of their own interest. There was a shelf containing a large assortment of silver objects which Anton had no knowledge about. Then there was the Headmaster's desk and sitting on the far side of it was the man Anton had been waiting to kill for about the last ten years. Deep hatred rose inside Anton as he saw the old and calm face of the wizard that had brought about the death of his father. He had really long hair and beard that had silvered with age. But the really striking features were the eyes. The blue eyes behind the half-moon glasses that seemed to be twinkling and were looking unblinkingly at him.

Anton wanted to kill the wizard then and there, but he knew that this was not the time. He calmed himself down quickly. He may have been experiencing a storm of emotions inside but outside he looked as impassive as ever.

Then Fudge said, "Antonio, meet Albus Dumbledore; Albus, your newest student Mr. Antonio Maxwell."

AAAAAAAA

Ron, Hermione and Neville were walking to the Great Hall for dinner. It had been a week since classes had started and Ron was starting to feel the heat again. The first week after the holidays was one of the toughest periods at school. After a period of two completely study free months they would be thrown into an abyss of never ending classes. It was all homework, homework and then once it was all done, there was again more bloody homework. The weekend had arrived and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He knew he had a lot of work to do but still the weekend always managed to cheer him up.

The only thing that had been exciting in the entire week was Professor Lupin's class. Now that was what Ron called a DADA teacher. That man really knew his stuff. He had broached the subject of Dark creatures and had stated the session with tackling Boggarts. The entire class had been a practical one and everyone loved it. Professor Lupin had undoubtedly proven to be a big hit, especially after Neville and his Snape-Boggart fiasco.

They had reached the Great Hall and went to the Gryffindor table. Ron saw Ginny and the twins and sat across from them them with Hermione and Neville.

"Hi everyone!" said Hermione and Neville together.

"Hi!" the three siblings replied.

"So, how has ickle Ronniekins fared through the week? You don't seem too well" asked Fred.

"Not well at all!" said Ron. "I have had a very demanding week and I am hungry. I wonder where the food is."

"I wonder how demanding his week has been George." said Fred.

"Um let's see. Considering the usual standards, it would have consisted of a little homework, a little fight with the Malfoy brat, another little special treatment from greasy Snape and and his pyjamas getting too short for him." replied George pausing a moment before each answer as though trying very hard to remember.

"Whoa!" Fred almost recoiled a little. "All this for just one bloke. No wonder Ronald is beginning to lose it. Such pressure for a fourteen year old little wizard."

"Shut up you two!" Ginny stepped in before Ron could reply seeing how pink his ears had gone.

"Hey Mum! I didn't know you were coming." George teased his little sister.

But before Ginny could retort back however, there was a sudden increase in excitement and people's heads started turning towards the staff table. The six of them followed with their eyes and were surprised to see Professor McGonagall placing the Sorting Hat on its stool like on the first day before the Sorting.

"What's going on?" said Neville.

"I don't know. I've never seen this before." Hermione replied.

"We'll know soon enough." said Ginny.

She was right. As soon as Professor McGonagall took her seat, Dumbledore stood up. He looked around and said, "I am sorry my dear students to keep you waiting from the lovely dinner after a hard day. But before eating I have an announcement to make."

Everyone was listening carefully. Dumbledore continued, "As most of you know, school education is not mandatory in the Wizarding world. Should your parents choose to train you at home they are free to do so. Today we have among ourselves such a young man who had been schooled in a domestic environment till now, but he wants to continue his further magical education at Hogwarts. He was a bit late but I saw no harm in allowing another bright mind to join the school."

"So I would like everyone to join me in welcoming with a big round of applause our new student Mr. Antonio Maxwell."

Ron started clapping with everyone as from the door behind the Staff table out came a boy of about his age. He was a boy of medium height with brown hair and black eyes. He was well built and looked like he did his share of exercise well. The boy, Antonio, as Dumbledore had said, was looking around the Hall in awe. His eyes were a bit wide with seeing all these people. That was normal. Students' first interaction with such a huge number of other students was a little intimidating.

"Come Antonio." Dumbledore called as the applause died and the boy walked slowly towards him. Dumbledore said, "I just met Antonio today from what I was able to see and gather about his knowledge of magic I have decided after consultations with some other teachers to admit him into the fourth year. But I couldn't choose the house for him and as has been tradition we will welcome our new student with his Sorting. So Antonio, if you would." He looked at the boy and pointed at the Sorting hat.

Professor McGonagall came up and took the Hat in her hands as Antonio sat on the stool. She then put it on his head.

AAAAAAA

The old Hat was a bit too big for Anton's head. As the intimidating looking witch put it on his head, Anton's vision was cut off as the Hat covered his eyes and came to rest on his nose. Then a voice spoke inside his head, "Well! Well! What do we have here? This is an untimely intrusion to my peace. Nevertheless, let's see what you have got."

It continued, "Hmm! You are brave boy. There is no doubt to it. You would make a legendary Gryffindor!"

"Nor are you unwise. You would be quite a fit for Ravenclaw!"

"You are humble and kind of heart. Hufflepuff would help you in your noble cause."

"And finally, you posses the cunning of the snake. You have the perfect Slytherin traits in you!"

"You are unique. Really, how many persons are there inside you?"

The Hat was beginning to sound irritated. Unknown to Anton there were more than a few curious faces beginning to appear throughout the students as well as the staff able. They knew that this had to be one of the longest Sortings in history.

The hat may have been at a loss but Anton knew clearly what he wanted, and that was what the Hat saw clearly in his head. The hat said, "Are you sure? You know you could have done equally well in the other three houses if not more."

"I am sure. That's what I want." said Anton, a little surprised at his opinion being asked.

"I may have had other plans," said the Hat, "but if you are sure then so be it."

And finally the rim above the Hat opened as it shouted wide and clear for everyone to hear...

AAAAAAA

**So, how was it? I couldn't help myself ending the chapter there. Anywayz, hope you enfjoyed the chapter. Do review...**

**Now to my best friends in this world,**

**SiriuslyAmazing: thanx. If that was what happened to you with the last chapter, then I can **_**just **_**imagine your reaction to this one. I hope you liked this chapter too. Your reviews are much appreciated. Do review again. You know, it's nice to have a regular reader and reviewer like you. Means a lot to me. And yeah, almost forgot, thanks for your wishes for my exams. I am sure they helped me a lot. Just one more practical to go now. So long...**

**Santa1: thanx. Yeah. You're right about stories like this. I like them so much. That's why I decided to write one myself. I think it will be more interesting to write now with all the Harry-Order clashes. And I think I would call that time you mentioned 5 in the morning. It's not really night then, is it? Anyways thank you for reviewing. Hope you liked this one as well. I'll be waiting for your review.**

**StephanieSnape: Hey! How's my most favourite reviewer? Honestly I adore your reviews. They are soooooo encouraging. I must have gone like at least 30 times through your review. And yeah, I think you made your point that you love the story and I love you for that. I didn't think you would be coming back. Thought maybe you had lost interest. Anywayz now that you are here, I thank you for your choice of house. Let's see where we go with that. Hope you liked the chapter. Please review again. Don't keep me waiting this time.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi guys! It's festive time and here we are with my next chapter.**

**My longest chapter with about 4.2k.**

**Please enjoy and review.**

**Merry Christmas!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**AAAAAAA**

Chapter 11

"SLYTHERIN!"

Anton heard the Sorting Hat finally shout aloud to the entire hall and a wave of relief finally spread over him. The professor took the Hat off him and pointed towards the table which was making the highest noise. As he slowly walked towards the table he couldn't help but notice the lack of enthusiasm being showed by the other three tables. The Dark Lord had been right; even at school there was an attitude of negligence and hatred towards one section of students. He inwardly smiled; this was going to be the least of his problems at Hogwarts. They were going to take him seriously.

As Anton reached the Slytherin table his eyes scanned the entire table and finally his eyes found the one that he was looking for. Blonde hair, pale face and above all that look of royalty just like his father; Draco Malfoy was sitting there clapping hard and a big smile plastered on his face. When Draco saw Anton looking at him he waved and called Anton over to join him. Anton did so willingly and went to sit with Draco as the applause finally died. There were two huge boys sitting on Draco's both sides. One of them shifted aside and made space for Anton to sit.

"Brilliant!" said Dumbledore, "Congratulations to the Slytherin house on receiving their newest member. Now that we are settled, let us eat."

Anton had seen magic at various levels but still seeing the gold and silver plates and bowls on all the tables fill instantly with food amazed him.

"You'll get used to it." said Draco looking at him. "Wait, let me introduce you to my friends. They are Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and Pansy." They all smiled at him on being introduced and he smiled back.

"Hi Antonio!" said Pansy.

"Hello." he said.

"So, you were trained at home, were you?" asked Blaise.

"Yes." replied Anton. He knew these would be his friends during his stay at Hogwarts but he wasn't comfortable with them yet.

"Let the man have his food. You can badger him later." said Draco who sensed Anton's mood.

They all went back to eating and talking among themselves and Anton nodded slightly at Draco who smiled and nodded back. With the introductions over, Anton started filling his plate and eating. It had been an anxious day after all and now that all had gone according to plan he was feeling bloody hungry.

AAAAAAA

Anton was lying on his four poster bed in the boys' dormitory of the Slytherin Common Room. He had finished eating dinner about half an hour ago and then had come to the Slytherin Common Room with Draco. There he had spent exactly three minutes in shaking hands with those who had finished dinner before him and were present in the Common Room. He had immediately excused himself from the attention that he was getting and come to the dormitory saying that he was very tired and wanted some sleep.

He began recalling everything that had happened since the Minister Fudge had brought him here. Fudge had explained Dumbledore of his apparent problems beforehand and so Dumbledore hadn't asked him anything about his parents or his childhood. The Headmaster had quickly introduced himself and then called four other teachers who he was told were the Heads of the four Houses.

"This is Professor McGonagall, the deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor house." said Dumbledore pointing the most intimidating witch that Anton had seen in his life, apart from his mother of course.

"This is Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw" he said pointing at a man who barely reached Anton's chest "and this, is Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff." he pointed at a plump witch.

And finally they reached the wizard that Anton had been looking forward the most to meet. Hogwarts' resident death Eater and the Dark Lord's spy, "Professor Snape, head of Slytherin." said Dumbledore introducing him to Anton.

"Hello Professors." said Anton smiling at all of them. They all smiled back at him and nodded except Snape who just stood there staring at him.

"You see Antonio," said Dumbledore now that the introductions were over "we have to see how much you have been trained in magic in the course of your training. Seeing that you are fourteen, you will not exceed Fourth Year, but if your magical prowess is not found to be satisfactory, you may have to start from a lower year. I am sure that you have been trained well and this is just to ensure that we can help you better. There is no need to worry, the teachers here will just ask you to do a few spells and once we know how much you can do we will decide which year will be best for you to start. Do you understand, dear boy?"

"I understand, sir." said Anton smiling inwardly. If he showed them how much he actually knew, the old fool would piss on his seat.

"Excellent." said Fudge who had been sitting there looking at the developments. "Seeing as you all are getting along I think I shall take my leave. Antonio, my dear boy, you are in good hands now. Your things will be sent here once you are sorted. If you have any problems, contact one of the teachers, alright?"

"Okay Minister. Thank You so much for your help." replied Anton with a smile.

"It was a pleasure my boy." Fudge said. Then looking at the Headmaster he said, "Dumbledore, I will be contacting you within a week. Big events lie ahead."

"Yes they do Cornelius." said Dumbledore smiling.

Then Fudge nodded to the teachers and walked into the fireplace and flooed away.

Now that he was gone, Dumbledore again brought his attention towards Anton, "So Antonio, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

Then Professor McGonagall turned to him and said, "Please take out your wand Mr. Maxwell."

Anton took out his wand as Professor McGonagall took out hers. She conjured a matchstick, of all things, on Dumbledore's table and looked at Anton. "Will you turn it into a needle for me Mr. Maxwell?"

Anton wasn't sure if it was a joke. Why would they want him to do that? He had transfigured matches and chalks when he was five years old. Even by Hogwarts standards this was First Year level. He looked at the teachers who were watching him intently and then he realised. They wanted to start from the basics. They wanted to see if he knew anything at all. Anton suppressed the urge to just wave his hand over the needle and waved his wand muttering the incantation loud enough for everyone to hear. The matchstick instantly turned into a pointed silver needle.

McGonagall seemed impressed as she vanished the needle with her wand. Then they moved on to more complex things, or so the Professors thought. Anton was dying of boredom. The things they asked him to do; they were just too basic. Anton was annoyed beyond control but he maintained his calm as one by one all the four Professors tested him and looked really impressed.

But there was still a catch. Anton had to know when to stop. He could have carried on and even passed Seventh Year spells but that was not what he had come to do. He knew when to draw the line. He did all the things that were Third Year or below and in his exasperation even did a few Fourth Year beginner spells like a summoning charm but that was it. After that he simply said that he did not know what spell they were talking about or he did not know about the potion that he was being asked about. This wasn't very easy. He had spent two days going through all the Hogwarts study material in the Riddle Manor. He had to know what he was supposed to know and what not. Once he was admitted he could do anything other than the Unforgivables. If anyone asked he would say that he had done some extra-reading. But here in front of Dumbledore he had to be very cautious. He knew he could not let anyone become even slightly suspicious.

He managed that with distinction. The teachers looked really impressed by Anton's skills. Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "Brilliant! You are quite the wizard Mr. Maxwell. You have some really good skills. I don't think we could have done a better job with you at Hogwarts. Your personal trainers have done an outstanding job with you."

Only if you knew my personal trainer old man, thought Anton.

"You could give Miss Granger a run for her money this year my boy, and trust me that is quite a compliment."

"Thank you, sir." said Anton politely having no idea what Dumbledore had just said.

"Dinner is about to start, I think we should take him to the Great Hall and get him sorted into a house." said McGonagall to Dumbledore.

"Very well. Mr. Maxwell, Professor McGonagall will take you into the Great Hall where you will be sorted in front of all the students. I will meet you again in the Great Hall." said Dumbledore.

Anton was snapped out of his reverie as he heard a door open. He looked over to see Draco enter the dormitory room and coming towards him. He came and sat on the bed next to Anton.

"You slipped out of the Common Room so quickly." said Draco.

"Yeah, I had no interest in more introductions tonight." said Anton still lying on his bed and not bothering to get up.

"I can understand how you feel. It can get a bit annoying." said Draco smiling. Then his expression became serious as he said, "You managed to get in. It is quite an achievement."

"Yeah I know."

"What do you plan on doing now?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Draco confused.

"It means that I don't have any drastic actions to take now that I have entered the castle. I have my orders on what to do. The Dark Lord's army isn't strong to take over just now. We have to bid our time till the right moment."

"So there won't be anything exciting? You'll just attend classes?"

"I never said that now, did I?"

"But-"

"Listen Draco, I don't have to kill Dumbledore or his people from the moment I enter the castle. I will kill them don't doubt it but that will all be planned. But that doesn't mean that we won't get any revenge. You see I am really very tired and don't have the strength to explain it to you. But trust me, you'll see soon enough."

"If you say so." said Draco. "You go to sleep Anton. I have a few things to work out with those two morons Crabbe and Goyle. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay." said Anton and Draco got up and left the room. Anton watched the door close and before another thought could form in his mind, he was fast asleep.

AAAAAAA

Anton got up early the next morning and it took him some time to realise where he was. He then dressed up and got ready for the day. He went down to the Common Room. There were very few students there. Just two girls and a boy who were talking among themselves. They looked up to see Anton as he entered the Common Room. He had no intentions of talking with them and so without looking at them went straight to the entrance. As he was about to go out, the boy called, "It's six o'clock. You won't get any breakfast now. That's still one hour later."

"I know. Just going out for a walk." said Anton and left without looking back.

He walked through the dungeons and came to the big main doors of the castle. The door was open and Anton slipped out into the grounds. As soon as he came out into the grounds, he felt very good. The fresh morning air smelled beautifully and as a very soft breeze hit his face Anton felt very refreshing. He remembered his old training regime back home where he went out to run and would reach home by about now. The chance for any exercise had been very less at the Riddle Manor and he hadn't stayed much at the Malfoy Manor to use the grounds. But the Hogwarts grounds looked just fine.

Anton started to lift his limbs and began a slow jog. The muscles used to this routine flexed easily and felt willing to go through some exercise after about a month of deprivation. Anton increased his pace and felt the familiar sensation of the morning air whiz past his ears. His heart began beating faster as he gradually ran faster and then was pelting at full pace on the Hogwarts grounds. He kept running and then came to a big lake. The water was as still as the surface of a mirror. There wasn't another soul to be seen around and everything was in absolute silence. Anton stopped running and took in the scene. The entire landscape was such an embodiment of serenity and calm that he even feared to breathe lest he disturbed the environment. He sat cross legged on the edge of the lake and then took a few deep breaths. It calmed him to an extent that he had not felt in quite some days. The lake was very big and Anton could not see the other end. He stared into the depth of the water as though trying to pierce with his gaze straight into the bottom of the lake. Unaware of how much time passed he kept staring and did not realise as his eyes closed themselves.

_**Anton was running through the streets of Godric's Hollow with the morning air hitting his face continuously. He passed the church and graveyard but didn't stop. His mother and father were waiting for him and he was going to be late.**_

_**Late...**_

_**Panic struck him as he realised that he had got late. His parents were in danger and he knew he was late to save them. He increased his speed and began running extra fast in his haste to reach his home.**_

_**Suddenly it got very dark and he was running under a starless night sky. He knew it was too late but he still had to try. He kept running as he heard thunder rumble far in the sky. He knew what it meant. Help was on the way. Maybe there was hope. Maybe...**_

_**And then he saw it. Their house came into view standing there with no sign of damage waiting for him to save his parents. A small spark of hope lit up within him as he realised that maybe he could save them this time. The thunder was growing stronger. This was it. He, An...Harry, would save them this time. **_

_**His heart leaping in joy he stretched his hands to open the gate and then a red beam of light struck the house and it was blasted of its foundation.**_

_**Nooooooooo...**_

Anton woke up with a scream. He was still sitting on the edge of the lake. He knew what had happened. It was "the dream". He tried to remember and as always became frustrated as he just recalled the house being blasted away. He knew there was more that he had seen but no matter how hard he tried, it just escaped his grasp. He finally gave up and looked at his watch. His heart skipped a beat as he realised that he just had ten minutes before the first class began.

He reached the Great Hall with about five minutes till the start of class. Now he was at a loss. He didn't want to miss his first class but he had no idea what class he had and where to go. As he began frantically turning his head looking for some clue, he saw Draco running towards him from the directions of the dungeons.

"Where were you? I've been looking everywhere." said Draco trying to catch his breath.

"Long story. You know what class we have?" said Anton.

Draco nodded and turned to walk towards the staircases and Anton followed. They had charms class and as they were about to reach the classroom, Anton grabbed Draco's hand stopping him abruptly. Draco almost fell over him but Anton managed to keep hold.

"What?" demanded Draco annoyed.

"I don't have books or my bag. It's still in our room." said Anton.

"Oh great!"

"It's alright. Take out your Charms textbook and give me your bag."

"But-"

"Please. We don't have time. Do it quickly."

Draco did as he was told.

Anton put the bag and book down, took out his wand and waved it over the items muttering, "_Geminio._"

As Anton muttered the spell there appeared exact copies of the book and the bag. He grabbed them and put the books in the bags handing Draco's bag to him. Draco however didn't take his bag. He was still standing there with his mouth open a little. He hadn't even heard of the spell that Anton had used.

Anton pushed the bag into Draco's hands and grabbed his arm pulling him into the classroom with himself. As they entered, they saw that class was full and Professor Flitwick was taking the attendance. Everyone turned to look at them.

"Late today, are we boys?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"Sorry Professor," said Draco who seemed to have regained his senses, "you know Anton is new. He went off without me and got lost. It took me some time to find him."

Anton was a bit angry at being blamed directly but kept quiet.

"Oh, I suppose I can excuse you for today. I don't want Mr. Maxwell receiving detentions on his first day. Don't get late again."

"Yes Professor." both the boys replied.

"Alright then go find yourself some seats and we will start."

Draco led Anton to the row where their fellow Slytherins were sitting but sadly there wasn't any seat left for them.

"Let's go there." said Anton pointing to the other row whose last bench was empty. That row contained students of some other house that Anton didn't recognise. He almost reached the bench when he realised that Draco hadn't moved and was standing with a scowl on his face.

"Come on!" mouthed Anton towards Draco glancing at Professor Flitwick. He didn't want any more trouble.

Draco grudgingly came and sat on the empty bench with Anton.

"Hey! These are all bloody Gryffindors. We don't sit with them." he whispered at Anton.

"Sorry, there wasn't any other choice."

Anton took out his book like everyone else had and looked at the students sitting in front of them. One was a tall boy with distinct red hair and the other was a girl with bushy hair.

Professor Flitwick began, "Class, this topic was scheduled to be taught a few weeks later but I want to teach it to you now. So today, we will learn about Summoning Charms."

"Oh good!" exclaimed the girl sitting in front of Anton quietly to her friend, "I read about them last Sunday."

Draco made a face behind her and Anton smiled.

"So, can anybody tell me the spell used in a Summoning Charm?" asked Professor Flitwick.

The bushy haired girl literally started bouncing on her chair with her hand raised. Anton knew it too but he was so amused by the girl's actions that he did not raise his hand. And also it was his first day and he was a little bit nervous.

"Yes Miss Granger?" asked the Professor.

"It's _Accio _sir." replied the girl.

"Well done. _Accio _it is. Five points to Gryffindor."

The girl was beaming as Professor Flitwick started taking out some cushions to let them practice.

Draco was scowling and he said to Anton loud enough for the girl and her friend to hear, "In case you were wondering Anton, that is Hogwarts' resident know-it-all, Mudblood Granger."

As intended the two students heard it and the boy turned towards them, his face almost as red as his hair with anger, "She answered because she knew it, you Slytherin idiot. So, just shut up."

Even the girl turned around and said, "Talk again when you know the answers to what is being asked, leave him Ron."

Anton was angered by the two children abusing his friends and jumped in to make things even, "Hey. You didn't do anything big by saying a simple spell. So get over it. Even I knew the answer."

"I didn't see your hand raised." said the red haired boy.

Anton was starting to really dislike the boy. Now that was fast.

"Just because he isn't so obsessed with showing off like this Mudblood, doesn't mean he doesn't know it Weasley." sneered Malfoy.

The name Weasley rang a bell and as Anton realised who the boy was his hatred even increased further. This family was very close to Dumbledore as Mr. Malfoy had said. In order to kill Dumbledore, they had to be killed.

Before the boy could reply, the Professor called out to everyone, "There are about twenty cushions here. Class gets over when all the cushions have been summoned. The person who can summon the highest number of cushions by the end of the class will earn twenty points for their house."

This caught everyone's attention and they took out their wand trying to cast their spell.

"Why don't you show us what you've got now, tough guy?" said Weasley to Anton. "I bet Hermione will kick your ass. You won't even get a fifth of how many she gets.

"Leave it Ron." said Granger but she looked pleased.

Anton was very annoyed with the boy.

"_Accio." _said Granger and the topmost cushion of the pile came flying towards her.

"Well done Miss Granger!" exclaimed Professor Flitwick.

The look that Weasley gave Anton was one of the pure gloating.

"What?" asked Anton, "_You_ didn't do anything."

"Well neither did you. She is a fellow Gryffindor. Doesn't matter who does it. We'll get the points anyways" said Weasley.

Anton was really pissed off now. He didn't want to come under the scanner but this wouldn't be such a big deal. If one of them had managed the spell, then he could do it without much suspicion. He looked at Weasley and said with a smirk, "Watch, and learn idiot!"

He raised his end, took a deep breath and concentrated on the pile of cushions and said, "_Accio_!"

All the nineteen cushions that were left rose in the air and flew straight at him. He saw all the cushions hurtling towards him and ducked just in time so that all of them hit the wall behind him and fell down.

As everyone began realising what had happened, they turned around to look at Anton with their mouths wide open. Weasley's eyes looked ready to bulge out and his face became if possible even redder. That gave Anton immense pleasure.

"Bravo!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "That was really an outstanding achievement Mr. Maxwell. I have not seen such a performance in my entire teaching career."

"Thank you Professor." said Anton pleased.

"I had promised you twenty points but that now looks very less compared to what you have achieved. So I award forty points to Slytherin house. As homework everyone except Mr. Maxwell will right twelve inches of parchment about how the summoning charm is performed. Now as promised, class dismissed."

AAAAAAA

**Hope you all enjoyed it. Please drop in a review. Thanks for reading...**

**Now to my reviewers-**

**SiriuslyAmazing: thanx. I couldn't help finishing like that. You have your answer now. I hope you agree with my choice of house for Anton. As u can see I disposed of the cliff hangers for this chapter. I would like to know if there is any particular scene that u would like to see with Anton at Hogwarts. anyways, thanx a lot as always for reviewing. Hope you review again. Merry Christmas!**

**Santa1: thanx. I have to agree cliffies are starting to become a personal favourite. About Dumbledore making peace I thought that it would be acceptable seeing the fact that the Triwizard Tournament was coming and with Voldemort on the rise he would need all available resources to protect as many lives as possible. I agree with what u said about Voldemort killing Harry. The prophecy always was his biggest priority and so it would be uncharacteristic to just forget about it. I hope you liked my choice of house and also enjoyed the chapter. Do review again. And have a Merry Christmas.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey guys! I am back with a new chapter.**

**Another 4.2k chapter.**

**Hope you like it.**

**Do leave a review in the end.**

**And yeah, Happie New Year to all my readers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**AAAAAAAA**

Chapter 12

Anton became a Slytherin hero overnight. The news that Gryffindor's smartest witch and the year's topper had been outdone by a Slytherin spread like wildfire and earned Anton the respect of the entire Slytherin house. The news had not been limited to just their Common Room, it was a hot topic in the entire castle but the other houses were not as enthusiastic as the Slytherins. The last thing they wanted was a Slytherin who was arrogant _**and smar**__t._

Anton had wanted to spend his time at Hogwarts under the radar but that idea had gone out of the window by the end of his first week in the castle. By the time Anton was enjoying his first weekend, every student in the school had heard something or the other about the new Slytherin student who would almost certainly break all the academic records of the school by the end of the year.

Anton did not intend to show off in the class but somehow or the other he always ended up doing just that. But it wasn't his fault; the teachers would ask him such easy questions that he had to answer them. Professor Lupin had asked him what the spell to repel a Boggart was. Only a fool wouldn't know it. And the homework that had to be assigned them over the week was too simple, well except one. Anton still had no idea what the ghost Professor Binns had talked about in the class; he hadn't paid a single moment of attention to what had been said in the class. He had listened to the Professor for the first five minutes and then it had just become unbearable. As far as the subjects were concerned, he had taken the mandatory subjects and just Care of Magical Creatures as the additional subject. It wasn't any specific choice on his part but it was the only subject that his friend Draco had and that was why he had taken it too.

Anton had been looking forward to meet Severus Snape since the moment he had arrived at Hogwarts. Their first meeting after their introduction at Dumbledore's office had been in the double Potions class the past week. It had been amusing. Incidentally the Slytherins shared double Potions with the Gryffindors as well. As Anton had learnt over the past week, the two houses shared Charms, double Potions and Care of Magical creatures, i.e. three classes in a week.

As the students began gathering outside Snape's dungeon for their class, Anton could see that he was receiving some not so friendly looks from the Gryffindors, especially Weasley.

"How many cauldrons do you target to melt today Longbottom?" asked Draco sneering at the boy who was looking really nervous as though this was the last place he would like to be in his life.

The other Slytherins laughed except Anton because he wasn't much interested in picking on someone who already looked so distressed even though he belonged to a family of one of Dumbledore's greatest supporters.

"Shut up Malfoy! You do not have the right to insult a fellow student just when you feel like doing so." said Granger sternly. She reminded Anton of McGonagall.

"Don't talk to me Mudblood, I don't want to get a disease." said Draco as again the other Slytherins laughed. Anton had no interest in either group of students, so he remained quiet watching the argument albeit amused.

Weasley quickly jumped to his friend's aid, "You mind your own business Malfoy or I'll have to beat some manners into you."

"Really now?" sneered Draco. "I have to admit I am really frightened now. I do seem to vaguely remember a Weasel vomiting slugs back in Second Year,"

This comment caused all the Slytherins to roar with laughter. Anton looked at Weasley whose ears had gone red with embarrassment. He did not enjoy these childish arguments but anything that made Weasley react like this was always welcome. He really loathed the boy. Not just him, his entire family. For what they had done, for what they had taken away from him. His mother had told him about them and he would make sure that their family would suffer exactly what his family had, only in a greater magnitude.

Weasley had reached his breaking point and he took out his wand pointing it at Draco, "My wand was broken at that time. But this time nothing is going to stop you from getting hurt." said Weasley through gritted teeth.

"And that's where you are wrong." said Anton stepping in front of Draco, his wand pointed straight at Weasley. He had stayed out of this but when he saw Weasley pointing his wand at Draco, he had had enough. He would not allow another Weasley wand pointing at anyone that he cared for, be it family or friend.

"Why you?" said Weasley shaking with what Anton thought was some kind of anger, "You do one spell correctly and think you own this Castle. I'll teach you both a lesson today."

"Ron, no-" began Granger but she was too late.

"_Expelliarmus." shouted Weasley._

Anton started to dodge but it hardly mattered. Weasley was shaking so much that he missed by about six inches.

"Again, watch, and learn." said Anton. "_Expelliarmus." _he shouted.

Weasley's hand flew off his hand and Draco caught it. On the other hand, Weasley himself flew about three feet away and fell on the ground.

"Ron!" shouted Granger and ran to check on him.

The door of the dungeon opened and Snape came out, "What happened here?" he asked.

"Weasley attacked me Professor and Anton defended me." said Draco quickly.

"Only because he insul-" Weasley started to say but Snape silenced him saying, "Enough. Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for attacking a fellow student and Mr. Maxwell, ten points to Slytherin for defending your friend, though I am sure he wouldn't have been harmed anyway." Snape said sneering at Weasley and Granger.

Weasley's face had had become, if possible, even redder than his hair.

"Now all of you get in the class. I don't have all day to resolve your petty arguments." said Snape turning into the dungeons and everyone followed.

Anton was in a very good mood as he took his seat with Draco at the front of the class. This was the only class he had seen Draco sit in the front.

The class after that went pretty quietly except the occasional funny moment when Snape decided to pick on one of the Gryffindors. The Longbottom boy did manage to melt a cauldron halfway through the class.

AAAAAAA

As his first week at Hogwarts ended, Anton started becoming used to the Castle; _the Castle only, not its occupants._ He still preferred to spend whatever time he had besides the classes, alone. Draco was the only person with whom he had had any significant length of conversation at all. The corridors were full of students at all times throughout the day and so it did not give any opportunities to be alone. The Common Room was in the dungeons and he preferred open air. So even that was not a very feasible choice. But the Hogwarts grounds excelled in this aspect. It was huge and so full of nature that Anton could spend hours there at a stretch and when he finally left, it would be with a sense of calm.

Anton's favourite part of the grounds was the Lake. He was an early riser out of habit-and early meant really early. The rest of the castle got up about three hours after him. He was always ready by dawn. The only problem was that he did not have any significant obligations to fulfil in the early hours, homework being the only thing to do. So he used to get dressed, took his bag and went out to the grounds where he could run as much as he liked and then finally would sit on the ground on the edge of the Lake. The rest of the time till breakfast would be spent either meditating or gazing into the depth of the Lake. On a couple of days he had even seen the Giant Squid.

It was the weekend-his first at Hogwarts-and he was again sitting by the edge of the Lake and staring into the water thinking about what had happened in his first week at school. It wasn't as bad as he had expected. He did not by any means enjoy having to attend classes that taught things he could do in his sleep, nor did he have any particular interest in the stupid little rivalries between the Houses but there was something in this place that appealed to him. It was simple. It was freedom. His whole life had been spent in moulding himself to his mother's wishes; learning new things and training to one day become an agent of death and destruction that would avenge his father's death. But here at Hogwarts he was his own free man who could live as he wanted, not as his mother wanted. He loved his mother more than anything in the world and he knew why she had to raise him the way she did. But now that he was ready to do what he had been waiting for since he had learnt of his father's murder, he enjoyed this little amount of freedom that he was experiencing for the first time in his life before the real action would begin.

AAAAAAA

The days went by and soon it was the day when the delegates from the two foreign schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were scheduled to arrive. All the students and professors had come out to receive the guests who had arrived with quite the entrances. Once the welcoming formalities were over, there were only two topics throughout the entire student body-the Headmistress of Beauxbatons and Victor Krum.

As the students filed back up the steps into the Great Hall Anton was surprised to see the fuss being created by the girls over Krum. From what Draco had told him amidst all the noise cheering Krum Anton understood that he was some sort of an international Quidditch celebrity. Anton saw the sixth and seventh year girls standing on the balls of their feet trying to catch a glimpse of Krum's head.

He took his seat on the Slytherin table in the Great Hall and looked around. The Great Hall had been extensively decorated to honour the arrival of the guests. There were banners hanging over each house table with the respective house emblems and the biggest banner hung over the staff table with the Hogwarts crest and a big 'H' in the centre. Anton's gaze turned to the foreign students who had also entered the Great Hall. The Beauxbatons students had taken seats at the Ravenclaw table and all of them had that same glum look on their faces as though they were disappointed by what they saw. Anton didn't understand why but something inside him wanted to slap the students across their useless faces.

On the other hand, the Durmstrang students were looking around the Hall in awe, some with their mouths open and looked unsure where to seat. Finally Krum came to the Slytherin table which was nearest to him and sat there with the rest following suit. Much to Draco's glee Krum sat next to him as he saw the empty space on one side of Draco where Crabbe and Goyle would normally sit. They still had not arrived for some reason. Draco's face was lit with a very big smile and Anton could not help but smile at his friend's antics. He suddenly felt as though someone was watching him and suddenly all those years of training kicked in. He quickly scanned the entire room and could have burst out laughing as he saw Weasley staring at Draco and Krum with the biggest scowl on his face. Anton did not understand the entire craziness with Krum but he could sense Weasley's jealousy at Draco sitting near Krum. Weasley saw Anton looking at him and his scowl if possible even deepened. Anton enjoyed seeing Weasley so agitated and winked at him with the best smirk he could produce. Weasley's face turned red and he looked away starting a conversation with Granger.

Anton was about to look away when he caught another pair of eyes looking at him. They belonged to a red haired girl sitting next to Weasley. As their eyes met Anton felt something stir deep inside him. Their gazes locked and he couldn't help but stare deep into those brown eyes. It was just like staring into the depths of the lake. He couldn't tear his eyes away from them however hard he tried. It was as though nothing other than those eyes existed in the world. They were perfect.

Perfect...

They weren't perfect. There was something wrong with those eyes and something had changed. Suddenly the entire world came back into focus and Anton realised what he had done. He had been staring at a girl. He looked at the girl and saw only deep anger in those eyes. As she realised that he was out of his reverie, the girl glared at him once more as if to impress a point and then looked away as if she couldn't care less about him.

Anton saw her look away and he could feel something die inside him. The stir that had been caused was now extinguished and a veil of sadness fell over him. He turned his head to look back at the plates in front of him. He still had no idea what had happened to him but it felt like there was nothing left to live for.

He shook himself, covered his face with his hands and took a few deep breaths to come back to earth. He looked around once again except at the Gryffindor table. Things were back in place and everything had returned to normal, everything except Anton's heart which was still beating a little fast. He decided to leave the matter for another time when he was alone and gave his attention to what was going on around him. Near him Draco was busy talking with Krum and introducing him to the other Slytherins nearby. Krum seemed mildly surprised at the attention being paid to him but also looked like he was used to it.

"And this," Anton heard Draco say turning towards him, "is my friend Anton."

"Nice to meet you Anton." said Krum smiling at him.

"Yeah." was all Anton could say and nodded. He was in no mood to talk with anyone at the moment.

Krum looked a little taken aback at the response or rather _lack _of response but Draco quickly said, "Don't mind him. He's not the most talkative of wizards."

Just then the Headmasters entered the hall and everyone looked at them. The students of Beauxbatons all stood up immediately at seeing their Headmistress. A good portion of the Hogwarts students were laughing quietly at seeing this, but the Beauxbatons students did not sit down until Madame Maxime took her seat.

Once everybody was seated, Dumbledore got up and began his welcome speech.

After the speech food began to appear on all the tables and Anton noticed the increased variety of food items on the table. However, he wasn't as interested in the feeding arrangements as he was in the seating arrangements. He did not fail to notice the two empty chairs at the Staff table. He was getting a little anxious as the time passed. The success of his first mission at Hogwarts would depend on the person. He was about to ask Draco whether the man would come or not when he finally saw it. Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr. had arrived to officially begin the Triwizard Tournament.

Once the Goblet of Fire had been lit and dinner was over, students began leaving the Hall. Anton got ready to carry out his plan his heart beating fast with excitement. He knew he had to act fast. He went out of the Hall with the students and quietly slipped past the Slytherins towards the front doors. He quietly followed the pack of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students who were going out to their respective carriages. He went out past the front doors into the grounds and then stopped near the door waiting for the foreign students to go a little far. Making sure he wasn't being watched he quickly took out his wand and cast a Disillusionment charm over himself. Then he stationed himself against one side of the door and started to wait for his victim to appear.

About twenty minutes went by without any activity and then Anton heard footsteps coming towards the door. He held his wand ready and began to wait cautiously for the people to appear. Two figures appeared outside talking to each other. They were Bagman and Crouch.

Anton knew it was time to act. He pointed his wand at his victim and thought, "_Imperio._"

The curse hit the wizard and he stopped in his tracks. His partner had gone a few steps before he realised his companion had stopped. "What happened Barty? Why did you stop?" asked Bagman.

_Give him a good excuse and fend him off. _Anton ordered Crouch through the curse. Crouch started to fight a little at first but Anton's will power was strong enough to make him bow.

"It is nothing. I forgot something important at Dumbledore's office. I will go and get it. You go on." said Crouch.

Bagman looked a bit confused. "You okay Barty? Your eyes look tired."

"I am alright. Just the stress with the World Cup and now the Tournament. You don't wait for me."

"As you wish. See you tomorrow then, huh? Goodbye." saying this Bagman left towards the gates.

Once Anton was sure Bagman had left and no one else was looking at them he gave his orders to Crouch, _You will get out of the grounds and apparate directly to the Malfoy Manor. There you will meet Lucius Malfoy and follow his orders. You will not speak of your assignment to anyone else. Should you happen to meet anyone else within your extremely short journey you will give a suitable excuse to fend them off. Should you meet Albus Dumbledore or any Ministry Auror, you will immediately commit suicide and not talk to them at all. Now go._

Crouch did as ordered and Anton watched him walk towards the gates and out of them.

Once Crouch was gone he slowly slipped inside the doors and went into the dungeons to the Slytherin Common Room removing the Disillusionment charm on the way. Now he had to wait till morning to get the results of his work.

AAAAAAA

***Flashback***

_**Five days before Anton comes to Hogwarts**_

Anton was standing at the door of the room where the Dark Lord was waiting for him inside the Malfoy Manor. Two days ago the Dark Lord had told him that he would be going to Hogwarts. He would be working for the Dark Lord right under the nose of Albus Dumbledore. Anton's entire being was excited. He knew there were still a few days left for him to go to the school but the thought of finally facing what he had been preparing for his entire life was enough to keep him anxious. Anton absent mindedly clutched his left forearm and then realised what he was doing. It had been the biggest achievement of his life. He was now a Death Eater.

Anton knocked on the door.

"Enter." said the Dark Lord.

Anton entered the room. It was a medium sized room which was sparsely furnished. The walls were mostly bare and the room was dimly lit with the only light coming from the fire in the fireplace. Towards one end of the room directly opposite of the door was a dais where the Dark Lord sat on a high-backed wooden chair. This room wasn't used for the regular Death Eater meetings but only when the Dark Lord wished to give someone an individual audience.

Anton reached the edge of the dais and knelt saying, "You called for me my Lord?"

"Indeed." said the Dark Lord, "Rise. We have lots to discuss but not enough time. Tell me, how are the preparations going?"

"Very well Master. Mother and Mr. Malfoy are teaching all I need to know during my stay at Hogwarts." said Anton getting up on his feet.

"Hmm. Bella and Lucius will see to those things. But I called you here for a different reason. Tell me Anton, what do you plan on doing once you have entered Hogwarts?"

"Kill Dumbledore and his followers, of course."

Anton saw the Dark Lord smile a little which if possible made him look even more intimidating. He said, "No my boy, you will do nothing of that sort. You will eventually do that but your aim at present will be completely different. I don't need to send you to Hogwarts if I only wanted to kill Dumbledore."

"What is it you wish me to do Master?"

"You remember when I told you about one of my most faithful followers who had been imprisoned by his father?"

"Barty Crouch Jr." said Anton remembering about the Death Eater who was to be rescued immediately after the Dark Lord's resurrection.

"Yes." said the Dark Lord. "You may have wondered why he hasn't been rescued so far. It had been tried but it seems Crouch Sr. had got alert once Bertha Jorkins had been missing. He put his son in hiding somewhere that we have no idea about. So what you will do is you will put Crouch under the Imperius and send him to me. I will take care of the rest. Now it would not have been difficult for anyone else to do under normal circumstances but with the Triwizard Tournament so close, Crouch has taken to the annoying habit of sleeping at his office. He cannot be attacked there. The only time he will be vulnerable is when he will be at Hogwarts. And that is where you come in. You will curse him and send him here. Keep in mind that Dumbledore is not around when you do so."

"Yes Master, I will do it to the best of my abilities."

"You are a good boy Anton. Just like your father."

Anton was very pleased to hear this. "Thank You Master, you are very kind." said Anton.

"Once that is done I have an experiment planned for Crouch. I don't expect it to succeed but it will be worth the fun to see him suffer. Then provided the experiment fails, towards the end of the year, I will need a big distraction."

"For what if I may ask My Lord?"

"Of course, you see...

...To be continued

***End Flashback***

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**So, how was it? Do review and tell me.**

**Now for my reviewers...**

**devis: thanx 4 pointing out your concern. Now let me tell u how I interpreted the ritual. What you need for the resurrection are bone, flesh and blood. Bone of the father is required to "renew" his son, flesh of the servant and blood of the enemy. What matters is the ingridients. How it is taken is a matter of choice. And Voldemort and Anton/Harry are eventually enemies regardless of what Anton thinks for now. So during the ritual Wormtail would have said 'willingly given' or something instead of 'forcibly taken'. That's how I think it would have worked. I need it to work 4 my story, eh? But anyways, thanks for pointing out. Do review again.**

**SimFlyer: thanx. Great to know u lyk the story. You keep up your good work(reviews) too.**

**Flamin'HorseGirl-Citi4ev3r: thanx. I hav updated. Now it's ur turn to review.**

**SiriuslyAmazing: thanx. U know, after I was waiting checking every hour 4 ur review. They are simply amazing. I m happy u liked Slytherin. Liked the showing off, did you? How was the showing off in this one? I really love these little parts. Ron and Hermione may look a little stupid right now, but Anton is way too advanced in duelling and spells. But they will all come into focus once Anton/Harry returns...oops...shouldn't have told u that, eh? But really, I am really curious as to what you think about the Ginny part. Please let me know, soon. Keep reviewing.**

**AzraelLilith: thanx. You have reviewed after a long time. Good to know you are still reading. Do review again.**


	14. Chapter 14

** A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry for the 5 month long absence. Honestly, I didn't have enough time. But I also can't think of abandoning the story. So I plan on making good use of the summer holidays. Enjoy the next chapter!**

** Reviews will be much appreciated.**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!**

**AAAAAAA**

Chapter13

The next day, Hallowe'en, was a Saturday which meant that there were no classes to attend. Usually this would have been a welcome improvement for Anton but it wasn't so on that particular day. He had waited for some news from the Dark Lord the entire day but there had not been even a hint of interaction from outside.

Anton had been very excited since morning but that turned into frustration and anger as the day wore on and evening set in. By the time he went into the Great Hall for dinner he was in a murderous mood. His first mission for the Dark Lord and no one bothered to tell him how he had done. Still some part of him that still had a trickle of reasoning inside it reminded him that maybe they were still busy with Crouch and hadn't got time to send him any news. But that was as far as reason went.

Dinner that night was another thing that worsened Anton's already lousy mood. The Hallowe'en feast would be succeeded by the naming of the Champions. He entered the Great Hall and went to the Slytherin table. He was a bit early and half the Hall was empty. The Hall looked different from the previous night. The House banners were gone and were replaced by huge pumpkins floating in the air with eyes and nose and mouths and candles inside them. There were about a hundred bats flying in the ceiling. Slowly the students began to fill and in no time the Great hall was full of students all buzzing with anticipation to see their Triwizard Champions.

Anton was sitting alone in his place as Draco had not yet arrived. He generally came to dinner on time because even if he was doing something, Crabbe and Goyle could be trusted to remember the time of the three meals. As everyone began to settle down and the staff and the guests all took their seats and the feast was about to begin, Draco along with Crabbe and Goyle entered the Great Hall. He looked out for Anton and came over with his eyes smiling. He looked excited about something, Anton just hoped it was something other than the naming of the Champions. Draco took his seat beside Anton and said quietly, "I received a letter from Mother."

Anton's heartbeat increased. "And?" he asked heart thumping with anxiety.

"It didn't say much in details like always but she wrote this much. Your job was successful. The Dark Lord's plan with him will be carried out tonight. And aunt Bella passed on her satisfaction on your performance." said Draco quickly and quietly.

Anton heaved a sigh of relief and was overjoyed with this news. His first mission had been successful. All those years of training were slowly paying off. The path for Dumbledore and his Order's destruction had begun right under their noses.

With this burden off the rest of the world came into focus and he suddenly realised how hungry he was. And as if hearing his wish food started appearing everywhere in front of him on the gold and silver plates and bowls. The feast had begun.

Halfway into the feast, with his initial bout of ravenous hunger diminished, Anton raised his head from his plate a little to pay attention to everyone else. Everybody was eating, talking and sometimes looking anxiously at the Staff Table anxious to know when the Names would finally be declared. But Anton wasn't interested in everybody else. He was interested in only one person and his eyes quickly found her. The red haired girl-who Anton had confirmed was a Weasley-was busy eating and talking with Granger and her brother. Anton knew he shouldn't be staring at her but once again found it impossible to look anywhere else. As he was looking at her, a strand of red hair fell on her face. It made her look so beautiful that Anton knew that if he could freeze time at this moment and keep looking at her forever he would be the happiest man on Earth. She tucked the strand behind her hair and looked up to say something to Granger. And again, Anton found himself in the same position as the previous night staring into those brown eyes. But realisation came much earlier tonight and he quickly returned his gaze to his own plate with his heart thumping fast. He knew she had seen him staring but once again he stopped himself from pondering any further on the subject and kept it for a later time.

After the feast was over the name of the three champions were called out and they went into a room behind the Staff table. They were Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, Victor Krum from Durmstrang and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts. As Anton shook hands with Krum as he went from the Slytherin table, he couldn't help but feel a little sad for the celebrity Quidditch player. The tournament was expected to be tough but he had no idea what extra kind of hell he and his two fellow Champions were going to face in those tasks courtesy of Anton. The Champions were followed into the room by the three Heads, Bagman and Crouch's Assistant who had filled in for Crouch who was apparently "sick and had taken a day off".

As everyone got up to leave the Hall and go to their respective Common Rooms Anton was positively happier than he had been while entering the Hall. His part had been accomplished successfully and now all there was left to know was what had happened to Crouch.

AAAAAAA

As always, morning came much earlier for Anton than for the rest of the Castle. As he opened his eyes on his bed, a smile crept across his face remembering his success. He was about to get up and get ready to go out when something changed his mind. Even though he didn't need but he thought he would reward himself with some extra sleep for a couple of more hours. With that, he turned on his bed, got into a comfortable position and closed his eyes.

_**It was a beautiful morning outside Hogwarts and Anton was sitting in his favourite place by the Lake watching the first rays of the Sun break through the slight mist hanging over the water and hit the Earth. The Lake as always was calm and still and the depths looked mysterious as ever. But why was he sitting here? He had decided to sleep a little more and now he was outside. But that didn't matter. Since he was already here, it wouldn't hurt to enjoy the scene. **_

_** Anton took a deep breath and took in the smell of the surroundings. It was refreshing, to say the least. He moved his head to look around and his heart skipped a beat as he saw her. She was sitting right next to him in her school robes and calmly watching the Lake.**_

_** "Ginny!" exclaimed Anton coming out of his shock.**_

_** She turned to look and Anton and smiled. His heart melted. "Finally noticed me, have you?" she asked.**_

_** "What are you doing here?"**_

_** "Watching the scene, same as you. It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked looking to the distance.**_

_** "Not as much as you." the words rolled out of Anton's tongue before he could stop them.**_

_** "You are being kind."**_

_** "No, I am just being truthful." continued Anton emboldened by her smile. "You are by far the most beautiful girl I have seen in my life."**_

_** "Thank You. How did you know my name? I don't believe we have met before."**_

_** "That was easy." Anton smiled. "All I had to do was give your description to my friends. Turns out you have quite a few admirers in the Slytherin Common Room."**_

_** "None I would even talk to other than you." said Ginny her calm expression changing a bit at the mention of his Slytherin friends.**_

_** Anton ignored her apprehension towards his friends in his satisfaction that she would choose him over them. Both of them sat quietly for a while lost in their thoughts. Then Anton said, "You know I will have to kill you and your whole family, right?"**_

_** Ginny wasn't perturbed in the slightest by the question. She looked at him quietly for a while and then smiled sadly at him. Her sadness pained Anton's heart but he didn't do anything. Finally she said, "You don't have to do that. You have a choice."**_

_** "I know and I have told you my choice. Your family, Dumbledore and all those people who hurt my family will pay for what they did. They will all die. My parents hadn't done anything against them, never hurt their families, then why were they attacked? Why was I ripped of the family, the happiness that every child deserves?" Words were now tumbling out of Anton's mouth as he let go of all the pain that he had kept buried deep within him for all these years. He could barely control his overflow of emotions. "Why did I have to spend my entire childhood running and training and duelling while you all were without a care in the world happy with your families? What did I do to deserve this Ginny? Well," he took a deep breath and calmed himself a little, "it doesn't matter now. What happened to me wasn't fair, but I won't complain. You know why, because what's going to happen to them will be far worse than what they did to me."**_

_** "And it includes me too?" asked Ginny calmly.**_

_** Anton didn't answer, he couldn't answer. What was he supposed to say to her? He knew what he had to do but it wasn't supposed to be like this. **_

_** Seeing his predicament, she got up and turned to leave. Anton's heart cried out for her to stop but didn't say anything. He just sat there watching her go away. She walked a little distance and then turned back and said, "I don't even know your name. At least, do me courtesy of telling me my future killer's name."**_

_** Tears started flowing from Anton's eyes as he heard her say that but he somehow stopped them and looked at her eyes and said, "It's Harry, Harry Potter."**_

Anton jolted upright on his bed as he woke up and realised he had been dreaming. He was also surprised to see that he had been actually crying in his sleep.

AAAAAAA

_**SENIOR MINISTRY OFFICIAL ARRESTED**_

_**By Rita Skeeter: In an astonishing turn of events today, one of the seniormost and most respected officials of the Ministry of Magic, Bartemius Crouch Sr. was arrested a few minutes after midnight attempting to steal yet unknown artefacts from the Department of Mysteries. He was arrested on the charges of "illegally entering the Department of Mysteries and attempting to steal valuable artefacts". The arrest was attempted to be kept quiet by the Ministry but failed in the attempt as Crouch couldn't be discreetly taken to Azkaban prison but rather had to be taken to St. Mungo's where he is currently undergoing mental treatment under Ministry supervision.**_

_** The arrest has caused nothing short of absolute mayhem and chaos at the Ministry of Magic that had not yet completely recovered from the Quidditch World Cup fiasco. Ministry workers flooded the building soon after the arrest but have refused to cooperate with the media to inform the general public about the details. The Minister of Magic himself is expected to come out with the official statement regarding the situation later today. But we are not leaving our readers completely clueless at this point of time as highly placed sources deep within the Ministry have informed that whatever Crouch had tried to steal was located in the room of prophecies in the Department of Mysteries.**_

_** Bartemius Crouch Sr. who is the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation was a household name a decade and half ago during the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He was an inspiration for the mass because of his ruthless action against the Death Eaters. Even though his career hit a roadblock with his son being confirmed as a Death Eater, yet he remained a symbol of justice for the Light Side. However, his arrest will once again bring into limelight the question of whether his son was the only Dark Wizard in the Crouch family.**_

_** Crouch Sr.'s arrest is also likely to bring a few questioning glances towards the ongoing Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The public will most likely have doubts regarding the safety of the contestants or 'Champions' in the Tournament in which Crouch had been very deeply involved. **_

_** The events of today have surely sprung up a few questions in everyone's mind but as of now the above mentioned information is all that we have. But rest assured, the reporter will continue digging into the secretive depths of the Ministry to bring all the details of Barty Crouch's arrest into the light.**_

Anton finished reading the newspaper in the Slytherin Common Room and looked up smiling at Draco, "So that's what they did with him? Take one of them to rob the Ministry! That's brilliant."

"Yeah, isn't it?" said Draco, "Now they will be fighting among themselves."

Anton looked at the newspaper article once again and had a feeling of satisfaction. His plans were starting to work, his wait of so many years was coming to an end. He had come down to the Common Room after waking up late and had gone down to breakfast. Being a Sunday morning everyone in the castle had got up late and the Great Hall was still full. Anton was surprised not to find Draco there but ate his breakfast thinking that he must have had some work elsewhere. But when Anton returned to the Common Room, he found Draco reading the morning edition of the _Prophet _with the biggest smile on his face.

"So," said Anton, "what are your plans for today?"

Draco gave him a mourning look and said, "Homework."

AAAAAAA

It was about 8 pm and Sirius was sitting in the big meeting room of Grimmauld place. The entire Order had arrived minutes before and everyone had settled down. The news of Crouch's arrest had rocked the Ministry overnight but more so the members of Order of the Phoenix who knew that the return of Voldemort and the arrest of Crouch a couple of months later could be no coincidence. An Order meeting had been called for as soon as possible immediately after the news of Crouch's arrest first arrived. But due to everyone's jobs the earliest possible time was at night. Dumbledore was supposed to arrive any moment now to brief them with his version of the events at the Department of Mysteries.

"So, how's life been at the Auror office?" Sirius was startled out of his thoughts as Remus took the seat next to him.

"Like a picnic, professor." said Sirius smiling at his friend.

Before Remus could reply however, the fire in the fireplace grew emerald and Dumbledore entered the room. Sirius along with everyone turned to look at the old Headmaster. He looked tired. Merlin knew he had enough on his plate. First Voldemort returning back, then the Triwizard Tournament and now Crouch, if it was anyone other than Dumbledore Sirius wasn't so sure he or she could have handled that.

"Thank you friends for arriving." said Dumbledore smiling at them. "Now as you all know, yesterday around midnight Barty Crouch was arrested by the Aurors trying to steal from the Department of Mysteries. The Ministry version of the story is that Mr. Crouch entered the Department of Mysteries and illegally tried to take possession of some 'valuable artefact'. While he was unable to succeed in his efforts spells placed on the object affected his mind and as a result he has been rendered mentally unstable. Even though all elements of the story are true but as always it isn't the entire truth."

"Do we know what exactly the 'valuable artefact' was?" asked Moody.

"I have a good enough idea." said Dumbledore. "As the _Prophet_ mentioned in the morning, Barty indeed tried to steal from the room of prophecies."

"So it was a prophecy he sought?" asked Dedalus.

"Yes, we can be sure of that. But the question isn't _**what **_he sought rather _**why**_ he sought it. I have a theory. But before I explain my theory to you I must impress upon you that I firmly believe that Barty Crouch did **not** intentionally enter the room of prophecies."

"How can you be so sure Albus?" asked Molly Weasley.

"Because I have been seeing a lot of Mr. Crouch this term and at no point did he give me the slightest hint of being up to any misdeeds. And I know a hint when I see one." said Dumbledore with a small smile. That seemed to settle it for everyone.

"So you are saying he was under the Imperius?" asked Lupin.

"I think so. And I think we all know someone who would love to send a Ministry official to steal from the Ministry itself."

"Voldemort." said Sirius as everyone in the room realised what Dumbledore was saying.

"Exactly Sirius." said Dumbledore. "My guess is Voldemort put Barty Crouch under the Imperius Curse and sent him to the room of Prophecies to get something for him."

"There is a problem Dumbledore." Said Moody as everyone turned to look at him, "As I am sure that you very well know, the prophecies of the room of Prophecies cannot be stolen by wizards not named in the prophecy or else they will go mad. Voldemort would have known it and he wouldn't risk kidnapping a senior and well guarded Ministry official like Crouch to do something like that. Even if he did not know about the spell on the prophecies he could have used any other wizard. So why Crouch?"

"I am well aware of the spells on the prophecies, Alastor as I am sure even Voldemort does or at least has some idea about it. That brings me to why was Crouch actually kidnapped. I believe stealing a prophecy wasn't Voldemort's main aim at all. He needed Crouch for something entirely different. This is merely guess work but I believe sending him to the room of Prophecies was just a way to dispose of him." said Dumbledore.

"Now that brings me to what we must do." Dumbledore continued, "We will have three principal aims. First of all, we must know what it was that Voldemort wanted from Crouch. For that I suggest we carry out a thorough search of his office and home. We might find something. Sirius, Kingsley and Tonks, it will be your job. No one will question three Aurors searching Crouch's belongings at this time. I also want you to find his house elf and try to find out what she knows. Kindly."

"Secondly, I have a good idea about what Voldemort wants from the room of Prophecies. It will have to wait a little before I tell you what, but I want the room to be guarded at all times. There won't be enough Aurors between the school and the case so it will have to be us. The rest of you except Severus and Remus will take turns among yourselves for guard duty."

"Now thirdly, there is a Death Eater at Hogwarts...

AAAAAAA

Anton was in the library going through the material that he had selected to search in for that night. The day had been uneventful apart from the morning and after dinner he had come to the library. Draco had been shocked when Anton told him where he was going. Anton had no need of help for his homework, so his use of the library was a mystery for Draco.

But Anton wasn't going to let anybody, even Draco on his secrect, anytime soon. Because it was personal to him. It was from his dreams. He never remembered his dreams and this morning was no different. But this morning's dream had left a trace. It had left a name. And even though it was a dream Anton somehow was sure that the name belonged to a real person. And he planned to find him.

That name, that person, was of course HARRY POTTER.

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**SO, how was it? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Next chapter is due next week.**

**To the most amazing people in this world,**

** anthony37: thanx. Well, as far as everyone's reactions are concerned, I am excited about that too. Hope I can do write them well enough. It will take a few chapters for Harry to learn the truth. Do review again.**

** SiriuslyAmazing: thanx. I am sure you looked a bit amusing smirking every other sentence. But since it was my story that made you do so I don't mind. I am really happy that you liked my portrayal of Ron and Hermione. Yeah sorry about leaving you hanging with that 'Anton returns' line. And thank you so so so much for liking the Harry Ginny part. I liked writing it too. I don't know if you will read this chapter after so long. But if you do, plz leave a review. Just to encourage you I don't mind telling you that in a few lessons Anton burns down the Burrow and kills two Order members.**

** harryginnyfan91: thanx. I am happy that you think my idea is different and like the story. An a special thank you for liking the Harry ginny part. I liked writing it too. As far as Harry remembering his parents, he did remember his real name, even though he doesn't know it's his name yet. Hope you review again.**

** FeartheOrdinary: thanx. It really makes me happy when people like the Harry Ginny part. Because I enjoy writing it too. And Harry will know the truth but it will take time (or in this case a few lessons). Do review again.**

** spellmugwamp97: thanx. I am happy that you like my story and also that you took your time to read it despite not liking 'fics like this'. A big thank you for liking my writing too. As far as your predicament regarding Anton, the Light side and the Dark side is concerned I completely understand that. It's sort of the same with me. That's why I like writing it too. I am still trying to decide whether Anton will go completely Light or a little light grayish, if you know what I mwan. Do review again.**


	15. Chapter 15

Last part of Chapter 13...

He was lying on a bed in his room just as he was told. He felt so comfortable like that. There was no pain in the world, no problems, it was a sensation of bliss. He was floating in the void as usual.

Suddenly the veil of the Imperius Curse lifted and he came to his senses. The first thing that he realised was that there were far too many people around him than he had expected and he was definitely not in his room. He was surprised but that was nothing when compared to the shock that he got when he realised who the people around him were, especially the person exactly in front of him.

Barty Crouch Jr. never in his wildest of dreams had thought that he would see this day and did not know whether to laugh or to cry. But there was one thing he knew he had to do. He knelt down and kissed the hem of the robes of the wizard in front of him and said, "My Lord, you saved me."

Lord Voldemort gave a cold laugh and looked at Crouch Jr., "Welcome back, my loyal Death Eater."

AAAAAA

** A/N: All right, so, that's done. Now onto the next chapter. It's a little later than I said, but then again, I have never been very punctual , eh?**

** JUST A MOMENT OF YOUR TIME GUYS! My summer holidays are going on and sometimes I get bored to death. So I would like a few suggestions on any good novels to read from u lot. Just to give u an idea of what I like, some of the novels I adore are-**

** Harry Potter (of course), Inheritance cycle, Bartimaeus Trilogy, Hunger Games Trilogy, Sherlock Holmes, Dan Brown books, Narnia, Famous Five, etc.**

** That will be all. Enjoy the story!**

** As always reviews will be much apprecaiated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!**

**AAAAAAA**

Chapter 14

Anton was sitting in the Charms class with Draco. It had been a couple of weeks since Crouch had been arrested and everything was going on peacefully. The First Task was to take place in about a week the next Tuesday. The Saturday before that had been announced as a Hogsmeade weekend and Anton had to admit that he was a little excited to visit the Wizarding village. He hadn't seen settlements like that his entire life and the stories that Draco had told him about the different shops had increased his curiosity. But that was still a week away and Anton brought himself to the present.

As usual the Slytherins had Charms with the Gryffindors. Anton was sitting with Draco in the last bench of the 'Slytherin Row'. He never sat in the first bench or any other bench except the last if he could help it. Because sometimes the lectures became so boring that he could not help but doze off and in the last bench at least it was a little difficult for the teachers to notice... immediately. It was good that Draco accepted the arrangement gratefully. The only exception was Potions where all Draco saw was the first bench. Anton didn't mind sitting in the first bench for just that one class. After all, Draco did sit according to him in all other classes. Moreover, Snape had become hands down Anton's favourite teacher at Hogwarts. On an average Snape awarded Anton about twenty five points per class. And no one could complain because there wasn't anything illegal in it. Snape simply asked the questions and Anton just had to answer them. The questions- like all other subjects- were relatively easy. Anton actually felt a tiny- very tiny, mind you- bit sad for Granger who would be bouncing up and down on her chair with her hand raised but Snape never even so much as looked at her. According to Draco for the last three years every time Snape asked a question Granger was the only one that had an answer and hate it as much he might, Snape had to take an answer from Granger. But now with Anton there, he was taking out all his pent up frustration on Granger and the Gryffindors.

"Glad I could be of help." Anton had said smiling after Draco had finished telling him the story.

He again forced himself to the present and saw that Flitwick had their essays of the previous class on his table.

"So class," said the diminutive teacher in his squeaky little voice, "last time you had given me your essays on the Banishing spell and I would like to tell you that the average performance of the class has definitely improved."

Everyone smiled a little at that. Maybe they weren't going to get homework today as a reward.

"However," continued Flitwick, "one of you managed to excel beyond what I would have believed possible for a Fourth Year. The essay was so beautifully written that I made a copy of it and have kept it for my personal collection."

Many students gasped. That hadn't happened before. All the Gryffindors were looking appraisingly at Granger and smiling at her. It had to be her. Weasley even patted her on the back. As for Granger, she was trying as hard as she could to look modest and keep looking at Flitwick. But the redness that had crept to her cheeks gave her away. The Slytherins were understandably far from happy.

Flitwick who was unaware of all this took out the parchment of the concerned essay and announced "Everyone would you give a big round of applause to Mr. Antonio Maxwell." There was a stunned silence as the entire classroom went deadly quiet. Then slowly they began realising what had happened. Anton was the first to recover and realised that he was gaping at Flitwick with his mouth wide open. He quickly schooled his features into a more composed expression. The rest of the Slytherins started clapping enthusiastically and Draco imitated Weasley by patting Anton on the back giving Weasley and Granger his nastiest smirk. The Gryffindors were shell shocked but somehow managed to give a polite and significantly shorter round of applause. Anton felt quite happy but his happiness increased tenfold as his eyes fell on Granger and Weasley.

Granger had been so busy keeping her modest look that when Anton's name was announced, shock and embarrassment were plastered on her face and it took her sometime to conceal it. However to her credit she did manage to change her expression and clapped with the other Gryffindors. However, Weasley wasn't so successful and was staring at Anton with the same expression that Anton had been staring at Flitwick with moments ago. Anton looked at Weasley and winked at him giving him the thumbs-up. Weasley's face and ears turned crimson with embarrassment and he looked away.

When the applause died down, Flitwick said, "Mr. Maxwell, I am really impressed and hope that you will keep up this level of excellence throughout the year."

"Thank you Professor, I will try my best." said Anton politely.

"Of course my boy and I also believe your achievement merits some points. Take thirty points to Slytherin."

Anton smiled. He loved Hogwarts.

"Great," continued Flitwick clapping his hands, "let's get going with our class then. So today, we shall start with...

AAAAAAA

After the Charms class Anton and Draco went out of the classroom with everyone else and were heading towards their next class when Anton heard someone call him. He turned around to see Granger and Weasley standing a few feet from him. Granger looked a little nervous and Weasley was looking anywhere but at him.

"Antonio." said Granger.

"Yes Granger?" Anton asked flatly.

"Um...I was wondering if I could have a look at your Charms essay. You know, Professor Flitwick praised you so much and I would be really grateful if I could just have a look at it. I am sure I could learn a lot from you."

Anton could have rolled on the floor laughing. The girl had really been hit hard by the essay thing. An idea struck him. He kept staring at Granger for a few seconds as though scrutinising her. She was looking very nervous. Then he finally smiled at her, nodded (she visibly relaxed) and said, "Certainly NOT Granger!"

Beside him Draco was rocking with laughter.

Granger blushed furiously and maybe got a little angry, "What?" she said, "Do you think one good essay makes you so great that you can so blatantly refuse a fellow student who just asks you to share a little of your knowledge."

"I don't know Granger, it's just that I am not feeling very generous today." Anton said smirking at her.

Before Granger could reply, however, Weasley stepped in front of her furious at Anton, "You bloody show off, I should kick your arse for that."

Anton gave him a very exasperated look and shook his head at him saying, "You know, I also think that you should, but problem is mate, you can't. Remember the last time you tried to be hero? Ended up landing on your damn arse, didn't you?"

"You will NOT talk to my brother like that!"

Anton's heart skipped a beat as he saw Ginny Weasley stepping between him and her brother, her wand raised and pointing directly at him. As always, everything else went out of focus and all Anton saw was Ginny. She was in her school robes, probably going to her next class and Merlin, she looked so pretty in those robes. Her robes looked a bit battered and were maybe a little oversize, but according to Anton, anything made that flaming red hair, those deep brown eyes and freckles look pretty. She also had a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck. Most people had those now-a-days. It was getting really cold. She was angry at something- Anton just couldn't remember what- and that only enhanced her beauty.

"Mate, you are not at dinner. So stop staring at her and say something." he heard Draco whisper in his ear.

Anton realised that he had been caught staring again and quickly closed his mouth (he didn't remember opening it like that, must have been while staring) and tried to compose himself. He saw that Ginny was still staring at him. He could feel his ears grow hot but managed to ask, "Sorry...what?"

Ginny looked confused for a second but then the anger returned again as she said, "I said, Maxwell, that you will not talk to my brother like that or I will hex your balls into oblivion."

Maxwell who? Oh yeah, he was Antonio 'Maxwell'. But this time Anton was ready and even surprised himself with his reply, "Well of course you will, but I would much rather you did something different with my balls." he said winking at her. "Let's go Draco." he said to Draco and they both turned back and walked away leaving two furiously blushing witches and a very angry wizard staring at them.

AAAAAAA

It was the Sunday before the First Task and Anton was sitting at dinner with Draco at the Slytherin table. There was an air of excitement among the entire Hogwarts population including the Staff and the foreign delegates about the First Task. The student rumour mill had worked at an exponential rate and Anton was sure that the total number of ideas that the students had come up with, could easily run about fifty tournaments. Some of the memorable ones were duelling with the other two Champions till death (this had gone on till some smart person had pointed out that all three needed to be alive for all the tasks), defending themselves against hexes and curses, doing various charms, transfigurations and making potions, surviving in a room with Snape for five hours at a stretch, fighting a Blast-Ended-Skrewt and spending a night alone in the Forbidden Forest with Acromantulas.

Anton was excited for the First Task too, but for slightly different reasons. He was going to kill Dumbledore and his Order shortly but before that he wanted to have some fun. He wanted to show everyone that the old fool didn't have everything under control as his followers liked to believe so much. So, the best way to do it would be the Tournament which was popular not only in the school but among a large part of the Wizarding World. He was in these thoughts when he saw his target approach the Slytherin table. As usual Draco waved at him and he took his seat beside him.

"Hey Viktor." said Draco, "preparations going all right for the Task?"

"Yes, they are going vell, thank you." replied Krum.

Anton didn't listen to the rest of the conversation and took out his wand under the table. He pointed it carefully towards Krum without being able to look and muttered "_Imperio" _under his breath so quietly that no one could hear him. The noise accompanying dinner at the Great Hall was to his advantage. Anton knew he the spell had hit its mark as he saw Krum's eyes glaze over. Draco and the others around him who were around him were busy eating and missed it.

_Act normally. _Anton commanded immediately. Krum's eyes came into focus at the order and he resumed eating.

_You will keep acting normally and keep doing your regular duties until I tell you what to do next._

AAAAAAA

The day of the First Task had finally arrived. It was late November and the cold had finally set in. Everyone could be seen covering themselves beneath layers of clothes and gloves and scarves. The tension and excitement in the school had reached breaking point and everyone was eager to see what sort of life threatening hurdle the Champions were about to face. The day of the First Task had been declared a half day and lessons stopped midday. After lunch all students were instructed to go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and enter the enclosure that they would see there.

Hermione and Ron ate their lunch quickly like everyone else and set out towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Maybe there really will be Acromantulas." said Ron in a small shaky voice as they reached the enclosure and went into one of the stands to find good seats. All the stands were filling up really quickly and they were almost full.

Hermione knew his fear of spiders and consoled her friend, "Oh come on Ron! It wouldn't be anything as dangerous as gigantic flesh eating spiders. The most they would have to face would be-"

Whatever her ideas maybe, were never heard because just then, from beyond a clump of trees deeper into the Forest came a number of ear shattering roars followed by three huge jets of twenty feet high blazing fire. The entire enclosure shook beneath them as everybody realised exactly what the Champions would be facing. Dragons. One for each of them.

AAAAAAA

Ron and Hermione watched entranced along with the entire crowd as the Champions faced the Dragons and took their Golden Eggs. The atmosphere in the enclosure was electric, to say the least. The students, regardless of their School or House, got behind each of the Champions and encouraged them to face the Dragons in front of them. Once a Champion came out of the Champions' tent, there would be incoherence everywhere. People began shouting their names, clapping, beating drums; in short they did whatever they could to get the Champion's adrenaline rising. And once the Champion started, the stands looked ready to explode with the noise level. All the students screamed, yelled and gasped together. For every breath the Champion took, the crowd seemed to have a reaction. And once they got the Golden Egg, the noise became so much that even the Dragon's roar at losing the egg could be just faintly heard over the noise like a thunder at a distance.

Two Champions had already completed the task and now all that was left was left was Krum. As the whistle was blown, Viktor Krum entered to the one of the biggest applauses of the day. The female population went mad and a few even took out posters with "Marry Me Viktor" written on them.

Krum saw the noise being made for him and raised a hand to acknowledge the crowd who went even madder. That, Hermione thought was odd. As a Champion and with having to face a big ugly Dragon that he was unaware of an hour ago, he should have been nervous. But he looked perfectly calm and was waving to the crowd. That was really odd. Maybe he is accustomed to all that, being an International superstar and everything, Hermione reasoned with herself.

Meanwhile Anton was having the time of his life making Krum blow kisses to the girls with the posters.

"Our Champion seems to be taking some time to interact with the crowd." said Ludo Bagman sounding a little confused. Anton made Krum make a rude hand gesture towards where Bagman was sitting and the crowd went hysterical.

Now Hermione was almost certain there was something wrong with Krum. But nobody else seemed to notice, they were busy laughing at the expression on Bagman's face.

Krum waved one last time at the crowd and then got serious, staring at the Hungarian Horntail in front of him. He took out his wand and pointed it towards the Dragon's claws which were clutching her eggs and shouted, "_Reducto"._ It hit one of the real Dragon eggs behind the Horntail's claws and it was blasted into dust. The Horntail howled with anger and began thrashing her tail madly.

"Bloody hell!" said Ron, "He's gone bollocks. The eggs shouldn't be destroyed."

Krum again raised his wand and pointing it straight at the Dragon's eyes and shouted, "_Incendio". _The crowd watched in horror as the Dragon's eyes and face caught fire and it started writhing in pain, unable to see anything. That was the last straw and the Horntail opened its big black mouth and released a torrent of fire towards Krum who dodged it just in time. The Dragon, now unable to see anything started breathing fire everywhere. The wooden posts that were holding one of the stands started to burn. Krum was standing there laughing at all the mayhem that the Dragon was causing.

Once again he was standing with his wand pointed at the Dragon's face. As it began opening its mouth once again to release another jet of fire, Krum muttered, "_Avada Kedavra"_

Everyone heard the rushing sound that accompanied the green beam of light which just missed the Dragon's head and disappeared into the sky.

Most of the older students and all the faculty members gasped as they realised what Krum had just done. The judges stood up together. Karkaroff had a blank, haunted look in his eyes and Fudge who had come in place of Crouch looked ready to faint.

Dragons are magical beings. Maybe it recognised the threat to its life, or maybe it was just in pain- even though the fire in its face had gone out one of its eyes were still swollen and closed- it unfurled its wings and with a great push at the ground, took flight. As it rose above the ground it turned its head towards one of the stands and released a humongous jet of fire.

Hermione watched as the Dragon took flight and then got the shock of her life as the big ugly lizard turned its head and she was looking straight at the yellow slits of one of its eyes. She was rooted to her seat as the Dragon opened its maw wide and she saw the yellow liquid fire come out from deep within its throat. Immobilized with shock she watched the fire travel towards her feeling her cheeks scorch with the heat before it hit them and then was jerked into awareness as an ocean of ice cold water drenched her.

Anton watched as Dumbledore transfigured the fire into water just before it hit the students and realised that fun time was over. He looked at Krum and saw professor Lupin sneaking in behind him. Realising what Lupin was going to do, Anton lifted the Imperius curse off Krum as Lupin's stunner hit him and he fell to the ground.

Anton then saw Dumbledore point his wand at the Dragon that was a good hundred feet away saw him pull it back without any significant effort. As soon as the Dragon hit the ground, about twenty wizards converged on the beast to subdue it.

Dumbledore then, in a magnified voice, announce, "THE FIRST TASK IS HENCEFORTH CANCELLED. ALL STUDENTS WILL RETURN TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND STAY THERE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PREFECTS WILL LEAD THE WAY. STUDENTS FROM DURMSTRANG AND BEAUXBATONS WILL GO INTO THEIR CARRIAGES AND STAY THERE UNTIL FURTHER NOTIFICATION FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE HEADMASTERS."

The students eager to get away from the Dragon and Krum, started moving out immediately into the safety of the castle and the carriages.

AAAAAAA

**So that's that. Another chapter done and dusted. Hope you enjoyed it. Leave a review...**

** Since I don't keep my promises on next update dates, here's a sneak into next chapter-**

** Coming up:**

** Action at the Department of Mysteries and Anton kicking ass. Also, more questions on who is Harry Potter?...**

** Now, to my favourite people in the world-**

** anthony37: thanx. You reviewed so fast last time. I loved it. Thank you. FYI, the revealing of Harry is not very far away. And some really heavy Harry-Order interactions are coming up. Do review again.**

** page-394-always1: thanx. Have I told you u are the most amazing person in this world. I was so happy when you reviewed. Honestly I didn't think u wud care to review after like 5 long months. But I am really happy u did. So u made an account, congratz! Happy that u liked the chapter and yeah I liked the ending too. There wasn't any Harry portion in this chapter but should be in the next. Yeah, I could just about imagine your expression while threatening. Hope u liked this chapter. Do review again.**

** Penellah: thanx. New reviewer. Yay! I am really glad u liked the story and took ur time to put in a review. It's actually quite a pain remembering all the things from GoF and linking it here but it's worth the challenge. I like it so much when people like my Harry Ginny moments because I enjoy writing them a lot. As for Snape, I am not quite sure, but there will be definitely be some Snape, I just honestly don't know how much. Any ways hope u liked this chapter. Do review again. **

** Lauraw18: thanx. Glad that u liked the story. Hope u liked this chapter too. Do review again.**

** Weatheryweather: thanx for taking ur time to put in a review. Here's ur update. Hope u liked it. Do review again.**

** Guest/Uddipta: thanx. Glad u are enjoying the story. And thanx for liking the Harry Ginny part. I enjoy writing it very much and am really happy when people like it. Here's another update for u. Hope u liked this chapter. Do review again.**


	16. Chapter 16: The Fall of a Hero

**A/N: After writing this chapter, I realised that my Harry isn't the canon's noble and incorruptible hero. My Harry went through enough hardships that changed some of his inherent features. So, even once he realises his true heritage, he won't be able to transform into a completely new person. There will be traces of darkness in him. **

**Which is why I will be renaming the story as "Shades of Grey". Any thoughts?**

**Anyways, my favourite chapter so far. Enjoy.**

**Reviews are appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**AAAAAAA**

Previously...

"What will you ask of the boy once he gets in, My Lord?"

"He cannot provide me anything that I don't already know or have."

"He has the ability wreak havoc among Dumbledore and his supporters."

"And once that is done I will kill Harry Potter myself."

"I have raised him his entire life for this."

**Chapter 15**

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" shouted Fred and George as a large consignment of Fillibuster's Wet Start No Heat fireworks went off in the kitchen of No.12 Grimmauld Place.

It was Christmas morning and the entire Weasley family-Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and all their children except the twins- along with Sirius, Remus and Hermione were at the dining table. Percy Weasley wasn't there as he was back in France doing his year-long internship at the French Ministry of Magic. As per Weasley tradition, all the Weasley children were in their special homemade jumpers, Ron albeit less happily than the others. They hadn't originally planned to spend Christmas at the Order headquarters but as Mr. Weasley had to be out of home at night on Order business, Remus had invited the whole Weasley family over to Sirius' house for Christmas day. Whether it was for the Weasleys' safety only or also to have some companions for his best friend on Christmas day, no one was completely sure. But nevertheless the Weasleys had accepted the invitation.

Everyone wished the twins in turn as they took their seats in the dining table.

"So, where were we?" Ron asked Hermione losing tact of the conversation that they were having before the twins had entered.

"Ickle Ronnikins! Fred said, shaking his head with a grave expression. "School is really hitting you hard. You were, and still are in the kitchen at the Headquarters."

"I know that you fool," replied Ron as his ears went red, "I was asking Hermione about what we were talking about."

"Oh, right!" said Fred mock realisation dawning on his face.

"We were just talking about the Triwizard Tournament." Hermione stepped in to rescue her friend, "About it getting abandoned and all that."

"I was wondering what had happened to Krum. Nobody at school said anything. Even the foreign students had no idea what was happening. One day they were there and the next day they were gone." said Ron with a grateful look at Hermione for changing the subject.

"Yeah, was he charged for his actions? Were they intentional or was he under someone's control? " asked Hermione.

"I would like to know that too." said Mrs. Weasley putting two laden plates in front of the twins. "The newspaper was quiet about the whole thing. What do **you **know about all this, Remus?"

"As far as I know," began Professor Lupin, "Krum was first kept under supervision, but by the time he recovered and gave us his account of events, it was clear that he had absolutely no idea of what he was doing. Apparently he was under the Imperius curse. For those of you who don't know, it is-"

"An Unforgivable Curse that, if performed correctly, allows a wizard to control the actions of another." recited Hermione and then realising her mistake said quickly, "I am sorry Professor Lupin. I shouldn't have interrupted you."

"It's quite alright, Hermione", said Lupin smiling a little, "even though I don't remember starting curses for even the Fifth Years, let alone Fourth Years."

"You haven't, I just did a little advanced reading."

"Of course you did." said Lupin, "So, coming back, where was I?"..."I know, the kitchen of the Headquarters." he said seeing Fred swallow his food and open his mouth to reply. "Yeah, Imperius. So as soon as it became clear that Krum was under the Imperius, and once it was checked that there were no remaining injuries, he was released from the Hospital Wing. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was Karkaroff and Maxime. They were angry with Dumbledore and wanted explanations. They weren't wrong either. A student had been attacked right under Dumbledore's nose. Not just attacked, but **controlled, **to harm others. That is pretty serious stuff. And knowing Karkaroff it wasn't surprising to see him add fuel to the fire. According to him, it was a planned attempt by Dumbledore to eliminate Krum and improve Hogwarts' chances of winning the Tournament. I know that is stupid," he added seeing many mouths open in protest, "but it is Karkaroff. He will do anything to blame Dumbledore and make him look incompetent in front of others. You should have seen the look on McGonagall's face when Karkaroff had accused Dumbledore. If they both had been alone in a room, I am not sure Karkaroff would have walked out of there with all parts intact."

"She should have taught that evil man a lesson." said Mrs Weasley brandishing her own wand attacking an imaginary Karkaroff. A few pots jumped out of the sink and started banging against each other.

"He wanted to take the matter to the International Confederation of Wizards. Dumbledore was his usual self offering to help Karkaroff make the appeal. But Fudge somehow managed to calm him down. I have a suspicion it involved a few gold Galleons." There were knowing smiles all around the table. "With the Heads taken care of, there was no point of them remaining at Hogwarts. So in the middle of one night, they took their students and went back in their carriage and ship. Of course Fudge used his influence at the _Prophet _to keep this matter quiet. So soon after the World Cup, this would have been his ticket straight out of his office."

"Doesn't matter he won't last long either way." said Sirius speaking for the first time.

"Why is that?" asked George.

"What do you think will happen once people realise Voldemort has been back since September and Fudge didn't bother telling anyone?"

"Anyways, that isn't the matter." said Lupin, "Fudge is a lost cause, what matters is what the people **will** do once they realise that Voldemort is back? Not just that, how much destruction will it take to make the people know that Voldemort **is** back?"

There was complete silence around the kitchen table as everyone pondered over Lupin's words. It hadn't been a great start to Christmas morning.

What they did not know was that this would be nothing compared to what would happen at Christmas night.

AAAAAAA

It was Christmas evening. The living room of No. 12, Grimmauld Place was full of guests. It appeared Remus' invitations had not just been limited to the Weasleys. Apparently, he had asked all the Order members that didn't necessarily want to spend Christmas with just their families to come. So, by 7 o'clock in the evening there was a little gathering of Order members in Sirius' house.

There were the Weasleys except Mr. Weasley, Hermione, the Longbottoms-Neville, his parents and grandmother, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Dedalus Diggle.

The men and the children were sitting in the living room with glasses of egg-nog or firewhiskey or butterbeer, whichever they preferred (the children **couldn't** prefer firewhiskey) and the women were busy in the kitchen preparing Christmas dinner. There were also trays laden with pies and muffins on the tables. One such tray of muffins was presently on Ron's lap who was sitting on a couch between Ginny and Hermione, with Neville sitting in front of them.

"Mmmm... these are really good." Ron passed his expert comment after what Hermione counted as his sixth muffin. "Want one?" he asked offering the tray to the others.

They all shook their heads. As Ron put the tray down and took his seventh muffin, Neville asked Ginny, "So, where did your dad have to go exactly?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders and said, "No idea, Order business. Nobody told us where he is."

"I have been hearing about this 'Order business' at home too. No idea what it is. I just know that they are supposed to be guarding something."

The other three heads jerked up at this. "What do you mean 'Guarding'?" Ron asked, "Guarding what? Like some weapon or something?"

"I don't know." said Neville, "Just heard mum and dad talking something about guard duty for the Order."

"I wonder what it is." said Hermione, her brain already buzzing with hundreds of ideas about what the mysterious weapon could be, "But since they are guarding it, it has to be from You-Know-Who. Something that he wants, that is with us."

"No, not with us." added Ginny, "If it was with us they wouldn't be guarding it. It would be with Dumbledore or something."

"Exactly Ginny!" said Hermione, the excitement slowly starting to build up, "They know the location of the object but cannot take it, nor can the Death Eaters. What location could that be?"

"What are all you ickle kiddies planning? Going to overthrow the Ministry?" asked George coming over with Fred to where the four were sitting.

"Ronald could head the food department maybe." added George.

"There is no such department you idiot." said Ron angrily, though he put down the half empty tray.

"I know, it's not like you would fit in any real department anyway." replied George.

The twins weren't much afraid of Ron's temper anyway, but once Fred saw Ginny's ears begin to turn red, he quickly changed the subject, "Dinner's ready, Mum's asked all of you to come."

That said, the twins went over to tell the others.

"Those fools." Ron was fuming, "Don't they have anything else to do besides picking on me?"

"Don't let them get to you. They are your brothers. I know it may sound absurd, but I think they do this only to make you prepared to handle pricks like Malfoy and Maxwell at school."

"You know what, Hermione?" said Ron, still sulking, "It **does** sound absurd."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny and Neville but didn't say anything.

"Let's go eat." Said Ginny, "Dinner always cheers you up."

Ron glared at her but went up and went to the kitchen anyway, with the other three behind.

Clear of Ron and all the other Weasleys for a moment, Neville turned to Ginny, "What's going on between you and Dean? Are you together?"

Ginny turned bright red as Hermione began giggling. "No, it's nothing like that." she said.

"So, you are not going out?" Neville confirmed.

"No, why are **you** so curious?

"Nothing, just asking." replied Neville. Hermione didn't miss the slight tinge of red that crept up to his ears but couldn't ask as they entered the kitchen.

The three sat next to Ron. The rest entered the kitchen and took their seats, Sirius at one end with Lupin and Frank Longbottom to both sides of him. Tonks sat between Lupin and Kingsley who sat next to Ginny while Deadalus sat next to Frank. The twins and the remaining Weasley brothers sat in front of Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny.

"Can I say Molly, the food smells amazing." said Lupin looking towards where Mrs. Weasley and the two Longbottom ladies.

"Why, thank you, Remus." said Mrs. Weasley smiling.

Within five minutes everyone's plates were full with the delicious Christmas dinner and before they all started to eat, Sirius stood up to make a toast.

"I know you are all getting really hungry," he said looking at the children, especially Ron, "but I would just like to take a moment here to thank you all for coming here today and sharing your Christmas evening with me. It really means a lot to me spending such great time with my friends and their families. There are dark times ahead of us but as long as we are united and continue to support each other, do we have hope in winning this war."

Everyone was looking at Sirius with admiration and an amount of respect in their eyes. The elders knew what the man had gone through since the Potters' death and realised how hard he had worked against Dark Wizards all these years. They also knew what it would mean to him knowing that he would once again be fighting against his best friends' murderer.

Sirius raised his glass and said, "To friendship and family, the only things that remain true in these dark times."

However, before the others could raise their glasses and follow suit, there was a disturbance somewhere in the kitchen and then everyone watched as a silver Weasel entered the room and halted in front of Mrs. Weasley.

Then it spoke in the voice of Arthur Weasley, "_**They are here. Send backup.**_"

Everyone was still staring at the empty space where the Patronus had vanished and then suddenly everyone came into their senses. The elders all stood up from their chairs, shock still plastered on their faces and it was Sirius whose Auror senses kicked in first.

He went into leader mode and began giving out orders.

"Mrs. Longbottom," he said to Neville's grandmother, "Alert Dumbledore immediately."

"The rest of you, let's go."

Then he turned to the children, "I know all this is confusing, but there is no time to explain. All of you stay together. It's safe here. We will contact you as soon as possible. Everything will be alright."

AAAAAAAA

Ten Minutes Ago...

Anton was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor. The room was very dark. The evening had grown darker but Anton didn't bother lighting the lamps.

It was Christmas, the day when people would get together with their family and friends and sing songs and prepare feasts. The day when they would exchange gifts with their loved ones and burst crackers. The day when everyone would be home at night. The day when the Ministry of Magic would be virtually empty. The day when Anton would steal the prophecy that the Dark Lord so greatly desired and give it to him.

The door of his room opened and he could make out the silhouette of Lucius Malfoy blocking the light of the lamps outside his room.

"It's time." said Lucius.

AAAAAAA

Security Guard Gregory West was one of the loneliest and angriest wizards in the world at the moment. He was a solitary figure sitting behind the Guard's desk in the Atrium of the Ministry. It was Christmas, and he was supposed to be home with his wife. It was their first Christmas together as husband and wife. Yet here he was, the unluckiest wizard in all of Britain, guarding the empty Ministry of Magic.

He recalled the unfortunate turn of events that had led to his misery. There had to be a guard at the Ministry at all times, even when it was void of anybody else. But none of the guards wanted the evening shift on Christmas day. There was no way in which they could decide who would get the shift. It would be wrong for everyone to get together and single out one of them for the shift. So they used the only unbiased way in which they could do this- a lucky draw, or in this case, an unlucky draw. And Gregory had been unlucky enough to win the draw. So here he was, sitting all alone in the almost completely dark Atrium, staring into the darkness.

It was so dark that he didn't see the wizard who was walking towards him until seconds before he reached the desk. Gregory overcame his shock at the sudden appearance and composed himself by the time the wizard reached him. He was a young boy of not more than fifteen years of age. He had messy brown hair and black eyes and looked like he did his share of exercises. The hair partly hid it but even in the dim light, Gregory could see some sort of a scar on his forehead.

"May I help you?" asked Gregory.

"Yeah," said the boy, with a little trace of nervousness in his voice which he hid quickly and continued more confidently, "I have an appointment with someone who works here."

Gregory was a little confused. Why would a little boy come alone to the Ministry on Christmas evening with an appointment when there was no one around? He decided to find out, "I am sorry sir, there is no one here tonight. Maybe I could help you if you told me whom you have come to meet."

"Actually, I can't tell you." the boy replied staring into his eyes.

Gregory was a little taken aback. Something about the boy wasn't right. Or maybe it was just nothing. He tried once again, "Sir, as I said, there is no one here tonight. So unless you give me further information there isn't much I can do for you."

"But he said, he would be here." said the boy now becoming a little impatient. "Maybe, he has scheduled to come sometime in the evening?"

Gregory was also getting annoyed and took out a parchment from under the table that contained information about any employee who had scheduled any extra working time after office hours. Even though he was sure, he went through it once again and without looking up, said, "I assure you sir, no one else will be entering the Ministry until tomorrow morning."

"I am counting on it."

"Wha-" Gregory's head snapped up and he was staring point blank at the tip of the boy's wand. A green dot appeared on the tip and rapidly grew into a blinding flash of green light.

Gregory West knew no more.

Anton watched the guard's head drop on the desk and turned his head towards where the others were waiting.

"Clear." he called.

AAAAAAA

Anton was standing at one end of row ninety seven in the Room of Prophecies while his mother, Mr. Malfoy and Crouch were searching the shelves for the prophecy. The other death Eaters were standing there beside him.

His mother stopped searching halfway down the shelves and turned to him, "Come here." she said.

Anton didn't need to be told twice. He quickly reached his mother. Mr. Malfoy and Crouch also came to see the prophecy.

"There." said his mother pointing towards a sphere situated little above his head.

Anton craned his head a little and saw the tiny glowing glass sphere. It had a slightly yellowish label on it with a date of some fifteen years ago but what was written below it hit Anton with an almost physical impact.

S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord

And (?)Harry Potter

"Harry Potter." he said to himself. "Who is Harry Potter?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Not now." said his mother, a little anxiously, he thought. "Take the sphere and give it to me."

Anton stretched his hand forward and wrapped his fingers around the sphere which was surprisingly cold and lifted it from its holder on the shelf. He stared for a moment or two at the glow inside the sphere and felt something stir inside him. But he ignored it and handed over the sphere to his mother.

"Well done." said Mr. Malfoy, "Now let's get going."

They went out to the room into the room with the bell jar and out of the dark circular room. As Mr. Malfoy had said, after the World Cup fiasco, Anti-Apparition wards had been set up on all floors except the Atrium and so they would have to go up to the Atrium again to disapparate.

As soon as the lift they had entered reached the Atrium and they got out, Anton knew something was wrong. For starters, it had been almost dark when they had arrived but now it was brightly lit. Secondly, as soon as Anton turned on the spot, he found out he could not disapparate. And last but not the least, standing ten feet in front of them were ten Order members with their wands pointed at them.

"Shouldn't have come here tonight." said the scary old man that Anton remembered was someone called Moody.

As soon as Moody finished, ten curses flew out of the wands at them.

Anton was ready. He whipped out his wand and cast out a shield moments before what he recognised as the full-body-bind hit him. Crabbe and Goyle Sr.'s were not so fast, as two big bodies crumpled to Anton's left.

And then there was chaos as the Death Eaters also began throwing their own curses at the Order. Both files began to disperse to give themselves room to manoeuvre and split into pairs or triplets of duellers. The Order had one or two members more after Crabbe and Goyle went down.

Amidst all this Anton found himself in the middle in front of a witch with short pink hair. Why did **he **geta woman?

But that wasn't any reason to be going easy and he prepared himself to fight just like all those times with his mother

"_Stupefy", _cried the witch.

Anton didn't even have to think. He waved his wand instinctively and deflected the stunner. He could have laughed at her effort. He allowed himself a little overconfidence and said, "Really? You will be shouting the spells so loud? I could beat you with my eyes closed."

Anton expected anger and possibly a rash attack or two, but he most certainly didn't expect her to keep staring at him with her mouth slightly open. "You-you are a child, aren't you?" she finally managed.

This angered Anton. She would be dying in a matter of seconds and she was calling **him** a child? Behind the witch, Anton saw Moody take down Nott and that urged him into action. He didn't answer her but shot his own stunner at her. The surprised witch barely managed to block it.

"IMPEDIMENTA", she shouted.

Another wave of his wand deflected the spell and then he took on the offensive. Taking a step toward her, he sent a full-body-bind that she again somehow blocked and followed it with a blasting hex which she avoided by jumping out of the way.

This game of cat and mouse contined. With every step that Anton took towards her, she moved one step backward. However after a few spells her defence finally began to waiver and seizing the opportunity Anton shouted with all his energy, "STUPEFY"

The power of the spell would have been enough to blast her fifty feet into the air but just before it hit her, a slab of concrete materialised in front of her and took in the spell. Such was the power of the spell that the slab turned straight into dust.

"What-" began Anton, and then saw Professor Lupin step in front of the witch.

Without even stopping Anton began firing spells at both of them. But Professor Lupin was a much better challenge than her. Together, they both managed to keep Anton at bay. Finally, one of Lupin's spells breached his shield and Anton reflexively dodged.

The curse missed him but grazed his mask which promptly fell down.

Both witch and wizard, for a moment forgot that they were fighting and tried to comprehend what they were seeing in front of them. Both were shocked to their core, Tonks at confirming the fact that she had indeed been fighting a small boy not even of age, but even more shocked was Lupin who recognised his own student.

"M-Maxwell?" he blurted out.

"No, Lestrange." said Anton and shot a blasting hex at the witch who this time wasn't so lucky and flew back about then feet and crumpled on the floor.

"NOOOOOO", shouted Lupin, turning his head to where the witch had fallen. That lapse of concentration was enough for Anton.

"Avada Kedavra." he cried.

Lupin turned back to him and realised too late what was going to happen. His features changed into that of pure shock and paused, as the curse hit him and Remus J. Lupin fell on the floor, dead.

Everyone stopped fighting in spite of themselves and turned to see where that rushing sound of the Killing Curse had come from.

"REMUS!" shouted Sirius Black staring at his dead friend and then blasting Rookwood with whom he had been fighting, turned to Anton.

"Avada-" started Black.

Anton jumped out of the way but the curse never came.

Black, and all the other Order members went rigid as statues. Someone had hit a full-body-bind on all of them together.

Then Anton saw who it was. The Dark Lord was standing a little distance away from them, his wand raised. "Well done Antonio, my boy." he said. Anton flushed with happiness.

The Dark Lord looked at Anton's mother who nodded.

"Very well." said the Dark Lord, but before he could say anything else, Anton watched in surprise as the Order members suddenly regained the use of their limbs.

"Wha-", began the Dark Lord and then breathed, "Dumbledore."

"You shouldn't have come here today, Tom." said Dumbledore, "The Aurors are on their way. You have lost."

Even though most of the Death Eaters and Order members could have continued fighting, they all stopped to watch the clash of their respective leaders.

The Dark Lord's chilling laugh rang through the entire Atrium. "I lost, Dumbledore? I lost, you fool? You don't even know what **you** have lost. I took your one last hope and turned it on all of you. None of you even realised what was going on."

Then many things happened at once.

Anton saw all the fireplaces lit up and Aurors stepping out of them. His instincts also flared at the same instant and he turned back from the Dark Lord and Dumbledore to see Sirius Black lurking behind him.

At the same time Bellatrix succeeded in breaking the Anti-Apparition wards and shouted, "NOW!"

Dumbledore and the Order members saw Voldemort and the Death Eaters turn on the spot and disapparate. But they also saw the jet of green light that shot out from the place where the Dark Lord had been standing just before he disapparated. Then they saw the green curse fly towards the backside of Antonio's turned head.

Finally, Antonio Lestrange felt the spell hit him and fell down on the ground, and everything went dark.

AAAAAAA

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Now, to my great reviewers-**

** Uddipta: thanx. The 'balls' reply was nice, wasn't it. Good to know u lykd the First Task. And yeah, that was all u will be seeing of the Triwizard Tournament. Hope u liked this chapter too. Keep reviewing.**

** kelnom: thanx. Glad to know u r enjoying the story. Do review again.**

** anthony37: thanx. Hope u lykd this chapter. Keep reviewing.**

** page-394-always1: thanx. How are u? One of my fav moments after posting a new chapter is waiting for ur review. Sorry if I made u feel bad with the Hermione situation but that does suit Anton, don't u think. Things will be different now, though. Yeah, the 'Ginny reply' was nice, wasn't it? I laughed after writing it too. As promised, I gave u some action in this chapter and I hope u don't sue me for killing Remus. It's always nice reading ur reviews. **

**Review long and prosper ;)**

** Nikki-Love013: thanx 4 all those reviews. Imagine my surprise when I opened my mail and saw 8 reviews together from a single person. Here are the answers to ur querries-**

**Ch2: I used the word 'annulled' to say that the prophecy was nullified, proved wrong. According to every1 Voldemort was dead, yeah, but Dumbledore always knew that Voldemort hadn't truly gone forever and one day would return And since Harry was presumed dead, there would be no one to fulfil the prophecy.**

**Ch5: Actually, in the chapter where Sirius says that Harry would have been in his Third Year, I did mention at the beginning that it was 'Few Years Later'. Maybe u missed it.**

**Ch8: I am sorry if something I wrote gave u the idea that Bella hadn't told Voldy that it was Harry Potter. I didn't write the conversation between them, but it becomes clear from the next chapter that Voldy knows it's Harry.**

**I am really grateful that u took ur time not only to review all those chapters but also to ask ur questions. It's a great feeling to see some1 read ur story carefully and point out any mistakes or querries. **

**Hope u liked this chapter too. Do review again.**

** leah: thanx. It might take some time for the snogging. But u never know. Keep reviewing.**

** Guest: No it isn't.**


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